To Rise From The Darkness
by Khalthar
Summary: She had always been a Sith, but now, her life would take a course that she NEVER would have believed possible! Now that she has witnessed the elimination of everyone in the Academy, what is a Sith student to do when she ends up in the hands of her ancient enemies, the Jedi? OC/ Leia. Not Slash!
1. Chapter 1

Clash of Darkness.

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Star Wars, Mace woulda killed Palpatine, and then bent Anakin over, yanked down his robes, and then proceed to whip the darkside right out of his stubborn ass! So, OBVIOUSLY I do not own Star Wars; that privilege belongs to George Lucas, however, the plot, the original characters, and the dual saberstaff wielding technique known as the Whirlus form belongs to ME! I would also like to give special thanks to Wookipedia for providing me with the research information that I needed to make this story possible. **_

**Cast of Characters.**

**Leia Organa Solo: Jedi Knight/ Jedi Master, Human female.**

**Han Solo: Captain Millennium Falcon, Human male, Corellian.**

**Oortal Keldaani: Captain Alderaan, Human male, Commenoran.**

**Dol Gahn: Healer/medical technician, Ithorian female.**

**Saba Sebatyne: Jedi Master, Barabel female.**

**Kyle Katarn: Jedi Master, Human male.**

**Darth Magus: Sith Lord, Kel Dor male. **

**Selar: Jedi student, Human male.**

**Kenth Hamner: Jedi Grand Master, Human male.**

**Cilghal: Jedi Master/Healer, Mon Cal female.**

**Mirta Gev: Bounty Hunter/ Mandalorian, Human female.**

**Boba Fett: Bounty Hunter/Mandalorian Leader, Human male.**

She moved across the cold stone floor of the ancient training room with all the speed she could still muster from her agonized muscles. Her sweat slicked body straining to meet the demands that she placed on it, as she struggled to block all of the incoming strikes to her naked form. Block, parry, dodge, deflect, slash; it was a constant need that flashed through her mind as she struggled desperately to do what none of the others, her Masters included, had managed. She fought to live.

She tried not to think about the fates of the others. She didn't want to join them in the grisly death that awaited her should she falter in the slightest. She knew without needing to be told that she was the last one still alive. As much as she didn't want to think about what had happened, and what was still happening, she could not shut out the scenes that surrounded her. The sight of dozens of twisted, mangled, and half eaten bodies, and the creatures that were still feeding on them. She knew that one small misstep, the slightest mistake or hesitation and she would join the rest of the nearly four thousand Sith who were being surreptitiously trained here in the deepest bowels of Korriban.

She had just finished the first half of her second four hour saber training session with Darth Magus, when the creatures had burst up into the lower crypts. Both the Sith Lords and the students had quickly been overwhelmed by the creatures that were ravenous for flesh.

Almost a third of a planet away from the Valley of the Dark Lords, this base had once been a training ground for tens of thousands of Sith troops, but that had been countless thousands of years ago, back when Korriban had sustained millions of Sith. The ancient academy and base had been rediscovered shortly before the beginning of the Clone Wars and had been immediately put to use.

Darth Magus, the Sith Lord who'd been trained by Darth Tyranus himself while still young had been one of the last to fall. He'd been killed when he cast aside the specially designed training weapons in favor of his lightsabers which had little effect on the impossibly tough hide of the creatures. She knew that only these two training weapons were keeping her alive.

Composed of highly compressed beskar, each of the two training staffs weighed a full metric ton apiece, and required use of the Force to merely lift those weapons. Equipped with a small motion powered, but high speed gyroscope inside each end, they perfectly mimicked the handling characteristics of an actual double bladed lightsaber, also called a saberstaff. Instead of an energy plasma blade that would eventually burn through the hide of the creatures, she was wielding weapons that smashed and crushed them into oblivion. The training session had been grueling as always, Darth Magus was a relentless task Master, and he demanded that she always train with these weapons that he'd had built specifically for training.

"_You will use them until you don't even realize that you are using them!"_ The aged Sith had snarled at her on countless occasions.

Now for once, she was truly glad that these weapons were as heavy as they were. Limbs broke, skulls crushed, and bodies shattered under the force of her blows. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, her muscles screamed in the agony of exhaustion, but she refused to let up. To let up was to die, she'd already seen that, and there was no way she was going to become a meal for some nightmarish beast.

Finally, a break. There was a slight opening in between two of the creatures, and she took full advantage of it. Slipping between them, she started for the ramp that would lead up to the lower levels, from there, if she was lucky _and_ the Force was with her, maybe she could make it to the upper levels, from there to the surface, and then to the ancient spaceport to escape.

The only problem was, she'd never been to the surface. Every single one of her thirteen years, had been spent deep in the bowels of the Sith home world. She'd spent just enough time in the simulators that she could fly a ship if she had to, but she'd never be hired as a pilot.

Now that she was on the ramp leading upwards to the lower levels, she was fighting a running battle in an area that favored her, rather than the creatures she was forced to fight. The close quarters forced them into limited numbers that she could deal with. She considered trying to take some of them out and lessen the number of opponents that she faced, but for every one of the creatures that fell back due to injury, it seemed as if ten more were just begging to take its place. Knowing that she couldn't begin to afford a war of attrition against them, she continued to make her way to higher ground.

She kept her weapons in constant motion. Slamming and smashing aside the limbs and claws that reached for her. For once her small stature was a true advantage. With the full sized staves that she was using, each one meant to be used with two hands, she had greater coverage from the weapons. Alternating her attack patterns, she sometimes had her staffs rotating counter to each other, and at other times rotating in sequence to deliver follow up attacks against her opponents.

During one of her counter rotation attacks, two of the creatures rushed her simultaneously. She dropped into a crouch, and raised her low staff, so that both weapons were now just above her head and smashed both of them in the legs. With the wet sickening crunch of shattered bones the creatures went down. Following up with a twist of each wrist aided by the Force, she brought her weapons around for a second attack to the heads of the two beasts. Even as they fell, she noted with revulsion that their brains had hit the freezing stone floor first.

Three and a half hours after that first horrific rush of death from below, she caught a break. She struck the creature that was chasing her and barely noticed its fall from a crushed skull, when she realized that she was alone in the corridor. Seeing a student barracks that had been abandoned for countless thousands of years, made her hope that maybe, just maybe, by some miracle of the Force, she could find a place to rest and possibly find some clothing to warm up for a while.

A quick glance inside showed her that although the creatures had been there, they weren't there now. That was all she needed to know as she went inside and sealed the two meter thick door to keep the creatures out. Turning around from the door she took stock of what was in the room that she might use. She ignored the grisly remains of several students in favor of the two creatures that lay unmoving in the room. Two swift blows ensured that if they hadn't been dead, they certainly were now.

She leaned her weapons against a wall, while she searched the large communal dormitory. When it was all said and done, what she had was one cloak that while blood stained wasn't damaged, two single hilt lightsabers and two double bladed lightsabers. It was these last two items that made her sigh with relief. The broken remains of the other lightsabers and the far too little remains of their mangled owners, she ignored.

She worked quickly as she gathered up the remains of the shredded clothing. She couldn't tell whether what she was now using as a belt to carry her newfound lightsabers had been a shirt, pants, or even some type of undergarment because of the bloodstains on it, but it served her purpose. A few more strips of shredded cloth served to cover her feet and tie the cloak around her to provide some warmth from the near freezing cold of the surrounding stone. She then used the cleanest strip of cloth she could find to bind her hair up and out of the way, so that she would neither be blinded nor hindered by it.

Testing one of the plastiformed bunks with her hand, she watched as it collapsed from sheer age. Going over to the ancient terminal which by some miracle of the Force, still functioned, she pulled up a student map. She choked back a sob of pure terror at what she discovered.

"_Those who falter or fail are weak! Only those who are strong are fit to survive to become Sith!"_ Darth Magus' voice railed at her from deep within her memories.

Hoping that she was wrong, and that she'd somehow misread the map she looked again. No, she wasn't wrong; she had nearly fifteen kilometers of passages, walkways, corridors, ramps, and rooms to pass before she could even think of trying to cross the surface of Korriban! The motion sensors showed more than seven hundred of the creatures roaming throughout every level of the academy! It would take an entire army of fully trained and highly skilled Force users to cut through them all. What chance did she have when she wasn't even considered worthy enough to be issued her first lightsaber?

She knew that she couldn't stay in this room forever, not only did she need both food and water, but she would also need clothing to keep out the ever pervasive cold. For now, the near freezing air help to refresh her exhausted body, but she knew that later, it would begin to sap her strength, strength that she would need if she was going to survive.

She slumped down against the wall and closed her eyes. To the untrained eye, she might have appeared to be sleeping; this assumption would have been far from the truth. She entered a meditative trance and began pulling the Force to her as she concentrated on trying to strengthen and re-energize her weary body.

"_Dress yourself in rage, clothe yourself in the Force, and you will be unstoppable!" _Darth Magus had bellowed at her the one time she had dared ask about clothing because she was cold. That had been many years ago, and this was the first time since that lesson that she'd ever wished for clothing during a training session. Although upon really thinking about it, her complete lack of clothing hadn't given the creatures anything to grab onto.

With that realization her eyes flew open wide. With a deep breath she stood and stripped off the bloodstained cloak. Folding it into a tight ball, she then tied it lightly to her makeshift belt. If one of those beasts managed to grab it, she would still not be hindered in her escape.

Turning to face the sealed door, she tried to quell the fear and terror that threatened to rip the very breath from her lungs, to call up anger, rage, and hatred in the place of those fears. She tried in vain.

A quick glance at the student terminal showed that none of the creatures were outside the door. Grabbing her staffs, she instinctively used the Force to pick them up, it had become second nature to her, an instinctive action, for Darth Magus had punished her mercilessly each and every time he'd caught her without them.

Darth Magus had used her training as an excuse to pioneer new training techniques in both the Force and in combat. Some of her first memories were of trying to learn how to simultaneously use two weapons that were even longer than she was tall. Failure had always resulted in punishment, and that punishment was always the same; hours upon hours of excruciating shocks from Force lightning.

Brief use of the Force released the seal on the door and the proximity sensor immediately opened it. Seeing that the corridor was clear for the moment she set out at a brisk pace. She knew that she needed to move quickly, but there was no way that she intended to run blindly into one of those things. As formidable as they had been, even her Masters had proven to be no match for the beasts.

She had no idea what they truly were. All she knew about them was that they were mostly immune to any effects of the Force. Darth Magus had often referred to them as the Guardians. He'd told her and the other students that they guarded the legacy, heritage, and strength of the Sith; ensuring that only those who were truly strong and worthy would survive to become Sith Lords. That alone had told her just how dangerous they were, even before they had shown up, and now, she knew she had to face them; alone.

She'd gone less than fifty meters when the first one came upon her. With a bellow of infinite rage, the creature charged straight at her. Instantly both of her staffs went into motion. Whirling them around her in a counter clockwise pattern, she began spinning in that direction herself to add extra power to her strikes.

With one staff at waist level, and the other above her head, both of her weapons were moving with blinding speed. As soon as the creature entered her striking range, she hit the beast with everything she had.

Her high staff slammed into the creature's shoulder, crushing its way inward almost to the center of its chest. The second staff hit the foul beast in the arm, forcibly amputating it by the simple fact that the staff continued inward until it was slicing into the abdominal section of the beast by sheer power.

At 1,000 kilograms each, the two weapons together weighed in at two metric tons. Driven by the unstoppable power of the Force, which in turn was fueled by her fear, desperation, and fierce will to live, the weapons knocked the creature to the side to slam against the unyielding stone with a sickening wet crunch of shattering bones, and pulping organs.

In the near silence that followed the creature's instant death, she could hear the heavy tread of several more approaching. A strong steady gait that belied the terror gripping her soul propelled her forward to meet them. She could have sworn that her heart had frozen in mid beat when she saw eight of the creatures rushing towards her. In pure desperation she reached out for the only real weapon that she had left. Calling the Force to her with a strength born of fear, she gave herself up entirely to the Force.

She blinked in puzzlement as she looked around her in a near daze. Somehow she was in the private chambers of Darth Magus. She quickly looked around to see if any of the creatures were nearby, and nearly collapsed in relief when she saw that the massive stone door was closed and sealed.

She looked around and spotted a data terminal. Setting her weapons aside she went over to it and seeing that it was in standby mode, entered her student codes. While her codes wouldn't give her any access to anything she wasn't authorized for, it still activated the terminal. Calling up the map of the academy, she realized in shock that more than ten hours had passed since she'd last used the terminal in the lower levels. Calling up the motion sensors gave her another shock, one that rocked her to her core. Her legs collapsed out from under her as she stared at the terminal in disbelief. Barely more than four hundred of the creatures remained. Had she done that? No! Surely not. There was no way that she, a mere student, not even qualified to attempt to build a lightsaber, had taken out nearly three hundred of the most dangerous creatures ever to walk the harsh world of Korriban!

_Maybe they just left; maybe they're leaving, now that everyone's dead. _ She thought.

With that seeming miracle giving her a temporary measure of strength, she stood and began cycling through the security cameras that were everywhere within the academy. A shaking hand rose to trembling lips as she saw the countless smashed, battered, crushed, and shattered bodies of the creatures that littered the passages to the lower levels.

Sinking back to the cold stone floor, she began trembling in shock. She had easily recognized the devastation caused by her own weapons. That and the fact that the carnage formed a continuous path back to the first barracks that she'd taken refuge in, were a dead giveaway.

Looking down at herself she took stock of her appearance. She still had her belt. The cloak and lightsabers were still there, and the coverings were still on her feet. Nothing else looked familiar.

As she looked down at her body, it was like looking at the body of a total stranger from their own eyes. Her skin, normally an alabaster white from never having seen a sun of any kind, was now colored a greenish blue and black. She was so drenched and covered in the splattered blood and gore of the creatures she'd killed to get here, that she was no longer recognizable as herself.

Too exhausted to get up without help, she once more called upon the strength of the Force to revitalize herself. The fact that she had to do so, proved her failings. Darth Magus had repeatedly told her and punished her for such acts, because a true Sith would be constantly using the Force to fuel their strength.

As soon as she felt that she was able, she climbed wearily to her feet, and began to thoroughly search the room. She knew that she wouldn't find any clothing that would come close to fitting her better than what she already had, and any that she did try to use would only serve to hinder her at this point. Instead, she extended her search to other items of use or value in her situation.

Using one of the lightsabers on the locks of the chest and closet. She found several packets of her deceased Master's emergency rations, which she devoured hungrily. She found a large satchel which was packed with several flight uniforms. These she tossed carelessly aside, the Kel Dor had been far too large for anything of his to fit her.

Inside the chest, she found several data pads, including one data pad that was crudely attached to some type of large crystal. Activating the data pad that was attached to the crystal, she found that it accessed information that was stored in the memory crystal it was connected to. She stared at the data pad in a mixture of shock and relief. It contained the complete teachings of the Force, with maps and references to other more valuable learning aids! She quickly shut down the data pad and stuffed both it and the crystal it was attached to in the satchel. After she had carefully packed those in the satchel she resumed her search of the chest and spotted a very strange looking medical kit.

Opening it to examine the contents, she was surprised to find it filled with nothing but Mandalorian battle stimulants. She nearly tossed it to the side when she realized her mistake. Those stimulants reproduced the same effects of her own body's adrenalin, but amplified by a factor of ten. The strange cocktail mixture also produced an intense rage, which might, just might help her get out of here alive.

Finding nothing else in the chest except a small pouch of strange looking metal disks, she decided that she needed to get some sleep.

When she woke up for the third time, it was with a feeling of desperation. She knew that she was safe as long as she stayed behind the sealed door, but again, she eaten all the supplies she'd found, and something was nagging at her to get moving. She grabbed the satchel and both of her staves and got ready to leave when she looked back at the small pouch still lying where she'd dropped it. Something was telling her to take it with her. She shook her head irritatedly. It was useless weight that might slow her down or otherwise get in the way. But still, that something insisted that she take it with her.

With a resigned shrug of her shoulders, she walked over and picked it up. She tucked it into her makeshift belt, so that she could easily discard it if she had to.

Checking the data terminal revealed less than a kilometer to go before reaching the main doors of the academy, it also showed her that most of the remaining creatures were closing in on her position!

Was this why she hadn't been able to sleep for a mere thirty minutes? Was the Force somehow warning her that they were coming for her? She had no answers to these questions, and no one to ask, so she put them out of her thoughts and prepared to leave the room.

After injecting one of the Mandalorian battle stimulants, she felt it begin to take effect almost immediately. A snarl of chemical fueled pure animalistic fury escaped her lips as she opened the door, and started heading for the surface.

As the first of the creatures rushed at her, a strange haze filled her mind. She couldn't think, she couldn't act, reaching for the Force; she released a scream of primal rage that made the creature pause for a split second. Then she was in motion, the Force fueling and guiding her actions. Like a marionette in the hands of a master puppeteer, she had absolutely no control over what she did next. In stunned disbelief, she watched as one of her weapons went flying from her hand in a whirling blur to kill the first beast before it ever got close to her. Even as her first weapon was returning to her hand, her second was arcing out to strike at others that were fast approaching.

With both of her weapons careening wildly around her she moved towards her goal and destination. Her steps were steady, solid, and determined. Although she didn't know it, her every move was now being determined by the living will of the Force. No longer was she trying to bend the Force to her will; she was far too weary for that. No, her exhausted state, along with the mental stress, desperation, and the stimulants she was under, combined to forge her into a living extension of the Force. With no control whatsoever, she merely watched helplessly as her body moved on its own accord, towards a goal that she knew she could never reach.

The next thing she knew, she was blinking her eyes in pain. She heard the deep rumble of the academy doors closing behind her, but she couldn't see anything. After having spent her entire life in the dimly lit underground depths of the hidden Sith Academy, she was not prepared for the sheer brilliance of even the relatively dim natural sunlight of Korriban.

With her weapons still hovering protectively around her she stumbled her way along the worn but obvious trail that led to the spaceport. She had no idea how far it might be, but she knew that she had to get there.

So blinded was she by the sun, that she never saw the first five ships that were sitting on various landing pads as she passed them. This was fortunate since they possessed no hyperdrive and were unable to traverse the vast interstellar distances that she would need to travel in order to fully escape the creatures.

As she climbed into the ship, she shielded her eyes to try to find a spot to store her weapons. She managed to get them wedged along the seat at an angle so that they extended towards the control pedals. Still shielding her eyes she tried to read the instrument panels. She finally located the main power switch and then sealed the cockpit. She was still trying to see well enough to initiate the main startup sequence, when she heard the enraged snarls of the creatures that were the cause of her predicament.

Within minutes the creatures were slashing at the hull of the ship trying to get to her. She could hear a strange rattle coming from inside the ship with her and quickly realized that it was being caused by her weapons. Frowning in concentration she realized that she had never released her grip on them with the Force. It took an act of concentrated will on her part to accomplish that task, but once she did, she found her ability to focus increased by a fair bit.

Quickly starting the main engines she ran through the most basic checklist which was all she'd been taught and lifted off. She had no clue where she might go, or where she'd end up, but at least she wouldn't get eaten by those _things_!

As the small craft cleared the atmosphere of Korriban, the blinding light began to dim as her course put the bulk of the planet between her and the sun. The dim glow of the instrument panel was more on a level that she was accustomed to, so she was now able to see the panel clearly for the first time.

The ship was old. She had no doubt about that, she just hoped that it would still work well enough to get her someplace safe. Knowing absolutely nothing about hyperspatial navigation would normally have hindered any attempt she made to fly the craft to a safe haven. Instead, her ignorance only served to assist her as she felt the Force guide her in setting the autopilot to reverse the previous course that it had flown an unknown number of years before.

As the ship entered hyperspace the girl slumped down into the pilot seat in exhaustion. At this point in time, it didn't matter how fearful she was that those creatures might still come after her, she simply could not keep her eyes open any longer.


	2. Chapter 2

SW2

_**Author's Notes:** Thank you in advance for the reviews. I do enjoy reading those, and I hope that you enjoy reading this fic._

As the newly commissioned diplomatic cruiser Alderaan prepared to enter orbit around Corruscant, an entire battery of alarms sounded off as a small ship dropped out of hyperspace nearly on top of it. Even as the ship's sensors began to identify the type of ship that it was, the large vessel was taking evasive maneuvers to avoid killing the reckless pilot. Out of all of the instantly busy personnel on the bridge, only one person took note of the fact that the strange ship was now drifting without power.

"Captain, are there any life signs aboard that ship?" Jedi Knight Leia Organa Solo asked softly.

Puzzled by the question, the officer pulled up the ship's sensor readings. As soon as he did, he saw what had caught the Jedi's attention.

"Affirmative! There are life signs, one human female, very faint. From these readings, I'd say that she might be injured. That's an _old_ Sith Starfighter from near the beginning of the Great Galactic War; if not before." Captain Keldaani replied in surprise.

Something about the vessel and its occupant pulled at the Jedi.

"Use a tractor beam to bring it on board. Let's find out what the rancor dragged in." She ordered with a tight lipped smile. "I'll be waiting in hangar two." She stated as she left the bridge.

Leia had no need to stay to see that her orders would be carried out. The crew of this new ship had been hand picked by her husband, and her nephew. Knowing that they would perform quickly and efficiently, she hurried down to the hangar bay where the ship would be pulled in.

Leia had reached the hangar well before the drifting ship could be safely pulled in by tractor beam. She decided that this was a good thing as she readied her lightsaber. The slight ripple in the Force that she'd sensed had the distinct tang of a Force user about it, and she was not going to take any chances.

The ship was completely without power, and there was no way to force the ship to extend the landing gear without it. Leia Force jumped onto the nose of the Great Galactic War era Sith fighter, while igniting her lightsaber at the same time. Ready for the worst, the Jedi looked down through the canopy into the cockpit of the Sith ship.

Leia had been prepared for almost anything, anything that is except the sight of the sickly, unconscious child that was huddled naked inside the cockpit of one of the most notorious vessels ever to be flown by the Sith. As she stared down at what was obviously still a very young female, Leia realized that there was something not quite right about her appearance, but she couldn't put her finger on it. With a sigh of both relief and frustration, she deactivated her lightsaber and called for the medical personnel.

"I want this hangar cleared of males, _now_!" Leia ordered in a tone that was long accustomed to command. Sith or not, no female that young deserved to have her dignity stripped from her without even being aware of it.

Within less than three minutes, the young female was out of the ship and on a stretcher, after being covered with a sheet. During a preliminary examination by a medical droid while still preparing the move to the infirmary, one of the healers, an Ithorian female, by the name Dol Gahn rumbled in dismay.

Because they were fairly Force sensitive by nature, Leia was able to pick up on the healer's distress even without the sound.

"Well, how bad is she?" Leia asked curiously.

"She suffers from extreme exhaustion, dehydration, severe overuse of some type of adrenal stimulant, and potentially deadly levels of poisoning from eating Kel Dor emergency rations which are still in her stomach being digested. She is also, completely covered in some type of dried gore that is also highly toxic." Dol Gahn answered.

"You mean that's _not_ her normal skin color?" Leia asked in surprise.

"Certainly not! Humans don't exist in that color to my knowledge." She answered.

Leia stared at the Ithorian healer in shock.

"You're telling me _that's human_?" Leia demanded in out right disbelief, and then she remembered that the captain had even said that she was human.

Leia turned to look at the Sith vessel with narrowed eyes as if she could pry the secrets out of it by sheer will.

"Take her to the infirmary, and do what you can for her. I want to know who she is and what happened to her. If she was hungry enough to actually _eat_ Kel Dor rations, she must have been starving and desperate." Leia said more to herself than the healer.

The Jedi turned back to investigate the ship that the girl had arrived in. The satchel she had no problems removing, but the pair of gore splattered staves, had to be removed by using the Force. The Jedi could see instantly that they were meant to be and were indeed weapons by the leather wrapped center of each staff where it was meant to be held.

Even after removing the two lengths of rod shaped metal from the vessel, she was unable to so much as budge one of them without using the Force to do so. Seeing that they were covered in the same type of blood and gore that had also covered the girl proved to be another mystery.

_How could anyone actually use a weapon that heavy, let alone two of them, and why would they choose one like that?_ She wondered.

As she turned to head towards the infirmary, a spot of damage on the ships hull caught her eye. This was no damage that could have been caused by blasters or turbo lasers. For one thing, there was no carbon scoring around that gash in the ships armor. For another, the rips and slashes in the hull were too closely matched to have come from multiple hits.

Then her eyes locked onto something wedged in one of the tears in the hull. A closer inspection showed that it was coated in more of the blood that covered the girl. Deft use of the Force yielded the object which proved to be a massive claw from some kind of living creature!

The Jedi Knight was rendered speechless as a dozen questions raced through her mind simultaneously. Knowing that she would have to wait until her unexpected guest recovered before she could get any further answers, Leia gathered up everything she'd found and headed to the infirmary to wait until the girl was recovered enough to speak.

Hours later, the esteemed Jedi had more questions for the girl than she knew what to do with. Investigation into the contents of the girl's satchel had revealed a small pouch containing a dozen or so coins totaling less than two hundred credits, a medical kit filled with the same adrenal stimulants that the girl had obviously used, several standard data pads and another data pad that was crudely, but permanently attached to some type of crystalline material.

Checking the modified data pad for information about the girl, yielded no clues as to her name or origins, but it did reveal something that caused her to immediately call out to her brother through the Force. Knowing that her husband was bringing not only her brother, but also a few other resources that might prove to be helpful, was a strong relief. After all, what lone Sith would stand a chance against a Jedi Knight, aided by an incredibly lucky former smuggler, an intelligence officer formerly assigned to galactic security, who also happened to be a member of the Jedi, and finally her brother, the former Jedi Grand Master!

Leia looked over at the girl lying on the medical bed. One of the first things the healers had done was run her through a sanitizer to remove the toxic gore which had covered her entire body. It had taken three trips through to remove the dried gore from the girl's body and hair. Skin that was far too pale to be healthy glistened a pale deathly white. The IV lines were hooked up to machines that not only filtered the toxins from her blood, but also inserted vital nutrients to help restore her to proper health. The girl's stomach and intestines had been pumped free of the highly toxic Kel Dor food supplies.

Leia shuddered in revulsion at the thought of even smelling that type of food, she didn't even want to think of how it must have tasted, or how desperately hungry the girl must have been to actually eat it, and keep it down!

When the approach of Dol Gahn interrupted her thoughts, Leia calmed her mind and prepared to question the healer about the girl's condition.

"Most important to me right now, is whether or not she's going to live." Leia said as calmly as she could manage.

"Oh yes! Most certainly. She was not as badly poisoned as we originally thought she would be. Somehow her body was mostly taking only what was truly needed for survival. She has a few slight injuries from getting hit by something, but mostly she suffers from severe exhaustion. She has used up all of her reserves during a tremendous effort of some kind." Dol Gahn rumbled in her deep voice as she gazed down at the girl in sympathy.

"Were you able to perform DNA mapping of the sample I gave you?" The Jedi asked hoping that at least one question could be answered.

"Oh, but most yes. In fact, we were able to determine that the blood she was covered in came from at least one hundred different members of the same species as the sample you provided, however, our medical data base contains no information on whatever it is. Here, you may see for yourself a new and never before seen species that is unknown to galactic science." She rumbled as she handed the Jedi a data pad containing a computerized rendition of the creature who had managed to claw apart solid duraloy.

When Leia looked down at the data pad that had just been handed to her, nothing in the known universe could have prepared her for the shock that she felt upon seeing that horrifying image. The data pad clattered to the floor after falling from nerveless fingers, as the Jedi Knight stared in horrified shock at a waif of a girl who had somehow, by some miracle of the Force, managed to survive an encounter with not one, but from the evidence, more than one hundred of the creatures thought to be nothing more than a terrifying legend by most, and extinct by others, known to the Jedi order as the tarentatek.

The ancient nightmare of all Force sensitives, light, dark, trained, and uncontrolled was no longer a mere myth to frighten those foolish enough, or naive enough to believe the legends. They were now all too real, and Leia had the proof lying on the bed in front of her.

Leia Organa Solo slumped to the floor as all strength fled her body. She managed to catch herself on the girl's bed before she fell completely to the floor. From her position on her knees she looked closely at the girl who couldn't possibly be more than nine standard years old.

In her distress she instinctively reached out with the Force, causing a ripple that would be felt by any and every Force sensitive in the system. Sensing the new source of fear, the girl's eyes fluttered open, and immediately began to squint in pain.

Leia saw instantly the terror contained in those gold colored eyes. Any doubts of the darkness within the child were instantly quelled when she saw those eyes. Her Jedi training protested against the mere presence of a Sith, but both her extensive diplomatic training, and her instincts as a mother were roused by the stark terror that she felt blasting from what was currently a helpless child.

"What's your name?" Leia asked as gently as she could manage.

"I... I don't have... They didn't. They sometimes called me Talon." The girl stated weakly.

"The... Where? Are they?" Talon struggled to ask weakly in a tone filled with fear.

In spite of all her past experience, all her Jedi training, in spite of everything she knew to be right in the universe, Leia couldn't stop her heart from going out to the girl upon hearing the sheer terror contained in those few desperate attempts to find out if any of the living nightmares had followed her here.

Instantly, the mother in her took over. It was the side of her that would defend her children no matter what the cost might be; the side that would face any nightmare real or imagined; the side of her that was able to still a child's fears with a few simple words.

"Shhh. Hush, you're safe here. Rest now and sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." Leia said softly as she released waves of soothing energy through the Force.

Both Dol Gahn and Leia could see the girl fighting to stay awake, certain that nowhere in the known universe was safe from the horrors that she'd seen and endured, but after fighting a grueling training session for two full hours before being forced to fight a running battle for nearly eighteen hours, all the while drawing heavily on the Force had taken a massive toll on her strength, and those golden colored orbs fluttered closed once more.

Leia turned and sat back heavily against the girl's bed. It was then that she noticed Dol Gahn looking at her with a strong level of concern.

"Are you all right Honored Jedi? You look as if someone has just struck down your entire herd." The Ithorian healer asked her worriedly.

"To be honest my friend, I _feel_ as if someone just struck down my entire herd. That. Those creatures that she faced." Leia gestured at the fallen data pad. "Until a moment ago, I was sure that they were nothing more than an old and nearly forgotten legend that was used to frighten children at the Jedi temple. I... I've seen ancient depictions of them and read descriptions of what they can do, but to know that a creature exists that is not only immune to the effects of the Force, but also actively _hunts_ those that are sensitive to it, and especially those that are trained in its use, is like finding out that your worst nightmare has been brought to life." Leia replied in a shaky tone.

Dol Gahn slowly reached down and picked up the data pad to look at the screen and the specs that were displayed there. "Do you truly know what this creature is then?" She asked more out of scientific curiosity than anything else.

"Oh yes, and so do you. It's called a tarentatek, and it preys on Jedi and Sith alike." Leia answered flatly.

Dol Gahn gaped at her friend of the past week. She swallowed hard as she tried to come to terms with something whose legend had always been used to warn misguided younglings into obedience. No adult truly believed that such a menacing evil could ever really exist, but here she held in her hand the proof that it really did exist, and worse had brought great fear, harm, and nearly death to a youngling. There was obvious sympathy in her brown eyes as she looked over at the resting child. A silent vow to the powers of Light and Goodness to ensure the youngling's health flew through the healers mind as she laboriously stood back up. She laid the data pad on the nearby workstation before turning back to her other duties.

Leia tried to regain her composure as she reviewed what she'd learned about the mysterious Sith that had been dropped in her lap. The child had obviously gone through something few beings could face and emerge unscathed. She knew that while the physical scars were almost nonexistent, the emotional scars on the other hand, could well prove crippling to the girl. Deciding that a proper Jedi style Force examination was in order, Leia turned and knelt by the girl's bedside.

Leia closed her eyes as she took a moment to focus her mind and calm her thoughts before opening herself to the endless energy of the Force. Feeling the girl's presence nearby, she began to move her mind closer to that presence. Then suddenly, with far too much ease to suit the Jedi Knight, Leia was inside the girl's mind.

Leia was viewing the girl's memories from the child's own perspective. Countless memories flowed past her mind's eye, and not a single one of them were anywhere near pleasant. The endless fear that she had constantly lived in permeated each and every one of those memories. The constant, never ending training, endless humiliation of being ridiculed for everything. The girl had often been punished for no reason at all except to satisfy the sick pleasure of her Masters. Clothing had rarely been allowed to any of the students. It was with a very heavy heart that Leia noticed that far too many of them were female. Then, Leia noticed that even the child's few great successes had been callously degraded. There were the countless lessons regarding the Jedi, their cruelty, their hatred of the Sith, the numerous wars in which the Sith had been nearly wiped out and forced into hiding. Lies built upon still more lies. It made the Jedi sick to realize just what had been perpetrated on this girl.

Leia watched through the girl's own eyes as she had been forced to develop and use a twin staff technique, in addition to every one of the other known forms of lightsaber combat. Leia knew instantly, that the girl's saber skills would be unmatched by anyone within the Jedi order. By the same token, the girl's telekinetic skills were also impressive. What truly troubled Leia though was the complete and total lack of mental shielding that normally went with Force training.

Curious about that Leia delved only a little deeper into the girl's mind. She didn't like having to resort to these methods, but she needed to know what type of threat this Sith represented. Then she found what she was looking for. Her Kel Dor Master had taken up the habit of raping the girl's mind repeatedly several times a day, every day. While the physical bodies of human and Kel Dor were completely incompatible for sexual relations, the Sith Lord had obviously found a way around that, and by forcing his way into her mind, he had done to her there, what he couldn't do to her physical form. She saw that while on most occasions he'd been alone, on far too many others, he'd had several other Sith Masters with him.

Leia was revolted, disgusted, sickened, and enraged by many of the memories she found, but the final key to the lack of mental shielding was when the girl had once tried to block one of the Masters out of her mind, hours upon hours of very mild Force lightning had left the girl in unrelenting agony afterward.

Leia became angry at herself for invading where she had no right to be, but now she knew some of what she had to deal with. Leaving those memories behind, she focused instead on the most recent memories.

There Leia saw the entire ordeal from beginning to end. Seemingly endless hours of striking out at a never ending flood of living nightmares that wanted nothing more than a fresh meal. The girl had lived her entire life in a state of constant fear that bordered on terror, only to have that fear elevated into something beyond any nightmare she could imagine.

Through the Force, Leia saw and felt what the girl herself never had. The Jedi experienced it for herself as the Sith child released herself completely to the Force, holding nothing of herself in reserve. Leia felt and saw everything as the Force took complete control of the child's body and did what was necessary for the child's survival.

Everything from the incredibly slow metabolic rate, to telekinetically wielding the massive weapons that the child had become accustomed to.

Leia withdrew from the girl's mind and sat back to think about what she'd learned. Talon wasn't the child's name, but more of a title that was only occasionally bestowed on the girl by one of her now dead and devoured Masters. Leia shook her head as she thought about the impossibly strong connection to the Force that the girl had achieved. It was something every Jedi was taught to work towards, but also something that few, if any, had ever actually attained.

In a sheer desperate bid to live, the girl had given up everything she had and was to the will of the Force, and the Force had prevailed.

As the Jedi studied both the girl and the memories from the girl's mind, she remembered the pained squinting. Realizing that this child had never been exposed to normal levels of light, Leia used the Force to adjust the lighting controls to a much lower level.

With the lights lowered to what would be considered a dim but romantic style candle light, Leia raised herself from the floor and resumed her seat in the nearby chair to wait for whichever came first, Luke's arrival, or the child's awakening.

She ached all over her body. Every muscle she had, felt like it was on fire. For that matter the very air seemed to be on fire as hot as it was. She was tired and weak, and not sure what she had done, or worse, had not done in order to be punished like this again. With a mixture of dread and fear she opened her eyes to the lighting that was dim by normal standards, but still bright to her darkness accustomed eyes.

What she saw around her was totally unfamiliar. With a worried frown, she sat up slowly and took further stock of her surroundings. She was in a small alcove on the softest and most comfortable bed she'd ever seen. To her right sitting in a chair watching her intently was an older woman whose long brown hair had tints of grey. The female was wearing clothing of the purest white that she'd ever seen. Looking down at her own miserable self she saw that she was also clothed in something white that had left her arms free and bare.

Not sure where she was, she tried to remember how she'd gotten here. Drawing a total blank only raised more questions in her mind. She knew that asking a question showed ignorance, and ignorance was failure, and that meant punishment, but she had to know.

Leia remained silent as she watched the girl sit up and try to take stock of her situation. She seemed to be doing okay until she spoke.

"Do... Do you know who... who I am?" The girl asked her timidly while cringing slightly away from her.

Leia frowned a bit at that question, not sure whether the girl was asking if she'd introduced herself, or if she was asking if Leia could tell her who she was.

Seeing the woman frown, she knew she'd made a serious mistake. A reaction like that had always been followed by torment. She quickly scrambled as far back into the alcove as she could get hoping that the pain wouldn't be as bad as it had the last time she'd made such an infraction.

Leia felt the wave of the girl's fear through the Force.

_By the light! She has to be strong in the Force to broadcast like that!_ Leia thought.

Getting control of her expression she schooled her features and adopted her diplomatic mind set. Leia smiled inwardly as she recalled the countless jokes that Han had made regarding what he called her Sabaac face.

"Relax. You're safe here. I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going to let anyone or any _thing_ hurt you either. I just want to help." Leia told her softly in as gentle a tone as she could manage.

The girl eyed her with mistrust, as her eyes darted around rapidly seeking some type of escape route or hiding spot.

"Why would you want to help me?" The girl asked warily.

"Because I'm a Jedi, and that's my job." Leia answered.

At the word Jedi, the girl's eyes had shot wide open in terror as everything came rushing back to her in a flood of continuous nightmares. The memories that flooded her mind didn't stop her from acting though as she used the Force to launch herself out of the alcove and into the back corner of the infirmary.

Leia had to instantly clamp down on her Force sensitivity as painful waves of fear crashed through the Force to slam through her mind. Even so, looking over at where the child had landed, she could almost _see_ the waves of terror radiating from the child.

Knowing what the girl had been through proved to be a huge factor as Leia remained seated and didn't move a single muscle while watching the girl.

Leia focused her mind on sending a wave of calm through the Force, and was stunned at just how effective it was until she remembered the girl's complete lack of mental defenses.

She cowered in the corner wondering how she had fallen into the hands of the Jedi. She had been taught her entire life that the Jedi were the enemy, that they would enjoy killing any Sith, and all Sith very slowly without hesitation. She'd been taught that the only question that would need to be answered was how long it would take you to die, when the Jedi got their hands on you. Looking around she saw that her weapons were no where in sight, nor was there any thing that she could use as a weapon.

Suddenly her fear was almost gone for some reason that was unknown to her. She slumped to the floor in relief.

Leia watched the wary child with concern. As terrified as she was, and as strong with the Force as she was, she could be exceedingly dangerous being backed into a corner like she was.

"Take it easy now. Okay? I'm just going to do something to prove that I'm not going to hurt you. Besides, I think you've had enough of that to last a lifetime." Leia said quietly.

Slowly Leia reached down and unhooked her lightsaber from her belt. She didn't stand up or otherwise move from her seated position except to look down at what she was about to do.

With slow, careful, and deliberate movements, Leia opened her lightsaber and removed both the power cells and the focusing crystal. Then she carefully laid all of the components on the workstation beside her, before looking back at the girl still trembling in the corner.

She stared at the Jedi in shock. The Jedi had just taken her own weapon and disarmed it herself! It had to be a trick; there were other weapons in the Jedi's arsenal. She knew that the Force held many abilities that she didn't have and didn't understand, strangulation being among them.

In spite of the soothing aura of calm that she was sending out to the girl, Leia could still see and feel the near mindless state of fear that the girl was in, she knew that it was going to take all of her skill as a diplomat and her experience as a mother to calm this child down before the situation became critical. Then she got an idea.

"I think I know of a way to prove that I have no intention of hurting you. I want your permission to enter your mind, in that type of connection you know that we can't lie to one another right?" Leia spoke slowly in a soothing tone hoping to get past at least _some_ of the fear the dominated the girl's mind.

She stared at the Jedi in disbelief. So great was her surprise at being _asked_, that for a very brief instant she actually forgot to be afraid.

She nodded her head numbly, knowing that she could no more stop the Jedi, than she'd been able to stop her Masters. But what happened next, was something she never expected.

Instead of being forced to envision her body being used in whatever manner her Masters had desired, she was being shown a room that was filled with countless streams of running water that cascaded down a series of step like structures. Plants of nearly every color imaginable were spotted around various points of the room as a warm golden white glow surrounded everything with a brightness that she'd never seen before. She found herself sitting on a circular platform clad in clothing exactly like those the woman was wearing. Looking around in surprise at this vision that the Jedi had created in her mind, she saw her weapons, including the lightsabers she had taken from the academy sitting beside her.

In surprise she looked over at the Jedi who was seated on the opposite side of the large room, and saw her laying aside her disassembled lightsaber.

"_I told you that I won't hurt you, nor will I try to cause you any pain even in here."_ The image of the Jedi told her.

"_Why are you doing this? Why would a Jedi want to help me?"_ The girl asked disbelievingly.

"_Because I once had a friend who was like a sister to me, in fact she married my brother so she was my sister. I came to love her very much after she became a Jedi. She had once been a very powerful assassin for the Sith, she was the Emperor's Hand to be exact, and even though she's gone, I know she would want me to help you."_ Leia answered honestly.

One thing she did know about mental visions like this, was that you could never hide the truth from someone once they were a part of you mind. She could feel that the Jedi had deliberately dropped her guard and was being completely open with her.

Unlike the countless occasions when her Sith Masters had entered her mind, there were no feelings of disgust, hate, derision, or lust. Instead there were emotions that she'd never experienced and had no words for.

In her mind, she looked over at the Jedi, wanting, needing, desperately needing to believe that for once in her life she had no reason to be afraid, no cause to expect more pain.

The image of the Jedi slowly stood up, walked over to her and sat down. The girl held still not knowing what to expect as the Jedi enfolded her in her arms. The girl felt a warmth rush through her mind that she couldn't describe. In confusion she looked up at the Jedi that held her.

"_What am I feeling? What are you showing me?"_ She asked in uncertain apprehension.

Leia smiled down at the child she held wrapped in her arms. _"It's a touch of a feeling called friendship. It's something that sometimes happens when you are with someone that cares about you. For now, until we know more about you, I will be that someone. If you need something, or want to know something, you have only to ask. I won't ever punish you for asking a question, understand?"_

In her mind the girl nodded, even as the Jedi was pulling out of her mind. She kept her eyes closed, trying to hold on to both the vision of the room, and the feelings she had experienced there. Finding herself back in her own body once more, the girl could still feel the Jedi's arms around her, and somehow she felt that for once she could relax.

Leia had opened her eyes to meet her brother's questioning gaze. She gave him a light smile to show that she was fine, but still kept her arms wrapped protectively around the Sith waif.

Luke calmly studied the girl in his sister's arms. Even though the girl was now a great deal calmer than she'd been when his X-Wing had docked with this ship, he could still sense a strong undercurrent of fear pervading the girl's entire psyche. Curious, the former Grand Master made a slight probe at the strength and source of the fear.

"Don't!" Leia snapped as she stood up and moved between the girl and her brother.

The tone that his sister had used was one that was accustomed to instant obedience, a tone that was infused with almost two decades of royal usage, and a few more decades of command, one that she'd almost never used with him before now and it captured Luke's attention instantly. As his sister released her hold on the girl, she had opened her eyes, and even in the dim lighting, Luke could see that amber glow that denoted the strong taint of the dark side.

Luke instantly snapped his eyes to his sister for answers, but kept his focus on the girl.

"Do not probe her mind in _any_ way! She has absolutely no defense against it, none! She has no mental shielding to stop her broadcasting, and she's been tormented into leaving herself open for anyone, and I do mean _anyone_ that wants in. We've got eight-year-old initiates that could probably dominate her mind. She's also been taught that Jedi are even worse than the Sith." Leia informed her brother firmly.

The last thing she needed was to have to try earning this child's tentative trust all over again.

Luke frowned slightly at the child that literally cowered behind his sister for protection. He of all Jedi knew that Leia hadn't received the full range of training in the disciplines needed for mental communication, and the fact that she had accomplished it with this girl, told him that she really didn't have the usual amount of defensive barriers found in a normal mind, because she'd sometimes had difficulty establishing such contact with him.

Luke switched his full attention back to his sister.

"What else can you tell me about her?" He asked.

"For right now, all I am going to say is that she's under my protection. Remember when I was interrogated by Vader? Well, what she's been through makes that seem like a _very_ pleasant memory by comparison!" Leia answered bluntly.

Luke's jaw dropped as he stared at his sister in surprise. It wasn't often that she was even willing to mention the horror of what had happened to her in that cell aboard the Death Star, so for her to say that it was pleasant compared to what this girl had been through, was really saying far more than her mere words expressed.

Leia reached over and picked up the data pad from the work station. She was unable to suppress a shudder as she thought of the creatures the girl had faced. Without a single word of warning she handed the data pad to her brother.

As Luke glanced down at the screen, he froze. The data displayed on the data pad made it clear that it was mapped from a DNA sample, and even had the sampled section highlighted to demonstrate the accuracy of the dimensions. The chill that ran down the Jedi Master's spine was not something he was accustomed to.

"Where did that sample come from?" He asked in a dead tone.

"I pried it out of the hull of the ship she arrived in. She faced more of them than I really want to think about right now, but after being in her mind, I know one thing for an absolute fact. My meeting her was the will of the Force. I've given her my word as a Jedi that I would keep her safe, and that's exactly what I intend to do!" Leia stated firmly so as to leave no doubt of her conviction.

The former Jedi Grand Master nodded to himself as he pondered this information. So often the will of the Force was nearly impossible to decipher, but the absolute confidence in his sister's tone as she spoke of this one fact, helped to dispel some of the doubts that he had.

"Are you sure that you're up to this?" Luke asked her lightly, knowing what she had implied.

"I know that I'm asking a lot here Luke, but I have to try, and I don't think I need to state the reasons why." Leia said heavily.

Luke frowned slightly as he studied his sister. His wife Mara had long avoided the dark side and eventually joined to fully embrace the tenets and teachings of the Jedi; and in their final moments both Vader, and Jacen had died while trying to help those they loved. For all three of them, for their memories, they would both try.

"Well, if you're going to keep her, then the first thing we'll need to work on, is teaching her not to be so afraid all the time, or at least not to broadcast it so strongly." Luke told her with a grin.

Leia grabbed her brother in a firm heartfelt embrace. Even though she knew that what she was about to take on was going to be incredibly difficult, she also knew that it might prove to be more than worth it.

The girl gaped at the two Jedi in shock as they hugged one another. Only once, and that being just moments before, had she ever felt the touch of another living being that hadn't turned out to be the cause of excruciating agony. The comforting feeling of the Jedi's arms around her was something that she couldn't get out of her mind, and an intense longing for more of that feeling flooded her being as she watched the two Jedi hug each other.

Releasing her brother, Leia turned back to the girl, only to find the child gaping at her. She couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the girl's confusion.

"It's called a hug, and I think it's something that you'll come to enjoy once you get used to it." Leia told her. "By the way, I'm Leia, and this is my brother Luke. You told me earlier that they called you Talon, is that your name?"

"They only started calling me Talon after I started fighting with the twin staffs. They said that I would rend my enemies and become the Talon of the Sith. Only the Masters and the Wielders had a name, the rest of us were just called whatever they wanted to call us at the time." She answered timidly.

Luke felt his heart sink at the girl's words; realizing at that moment, that she'd been raised with less compassion than most people showed their droids.

Leia knelt down on the floor next to her placing her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Well, since you seem to have earned the right to be called Talon, would you like to use that as your name?" She asked gently.

When the girl nodded, Leia smiled warmly at her. "Talon it is, then. Come, let's see if we can find you something to wear, although I doubt that we have anything on board that will fit properly, half starved as you are, I'm sure we can still find something for you to wear." She continued taking Talon by the hand and helping her to her feet.

It wasn't until she was standing up that Leia noticed the sheen of sweat that coated the girl's entire body. She hadn't noticed it before because of the dimmed lights, but now that she was standing, Talon's abnormally pale skin clearly showed just how uncomfortable she really was.

There wasn't much that could be done about the heat without readjusting the temperature for a fairly large number of beings; however she could get Talon to a set of quarters where she could at least be comfortable, even if it meant extra clothing for others.

Leia stopped at a storage locker on the way out of the infirmary, and opened it to return what little was there to Talon's possession. She felt Talon's body tense behind her when the girl saw her pulling out the various lightsabers contained within. With out a word Leia passed both the lightsabers and a proper belt back to the young Sith. Leia felt her brother's curiosity when she used the Force to move Talon's twin staves out of the locker.

As soon as her weapons were in reach, Talon eagerly reached out and grabbed one in each hand. Both of the Jedi could feel waves of mental tension dissipate as soon at the girl got her hands on the twin metal rods. Luke noted that strangely, receiving the four lightsabers had done very little to allow the girl to relax even a little. That the two staves had done so puzzled Luke greatly.

Leia reached into the locker and pulled out the now cleaned cloak that Talon had brought with her. While the thick wool like cloth would be unbearably hot for the girl, it would be much better than the thin medical covering that she currently wore.

_With all of our medical knowledge, why hasn't someone come up with a hospital covering that lets a patient keep their dignity and modesty?_ Leia thought with some mild irritation as she dressed Talon in the cloak. Leia made sure to pull the hood down low over the girl's eyes to help alleviate some of the brightness she'd encounter during the walk to the section of the ship where the Jedi living quarters were housed.

Leia pulled the satchel out of the locker and turned to face Talon.

"Would you mind if I put my lightsaber in here for a while? It doesn't quite fit on my belt the way it is." Leia asked her lightly.

Talon swallowed hard as she glanced back at the workstation where the Jedi's lightsaber still lay in a partly disassembled state. Then she looked back to the Jedi and nodded uncertainly.

A swift wave of Force power swept the lightsaber components into the satchel, and Leia sealed the case once the parts were safely inside.

"I'll carry the satchel, so you can hang onto those." Leia said to Talon indicating the dual staves. Once again Leia had to smile at the look of surprise that resulted from such a small act of kindness.

Luke noted all of this with interest. Obviously his sister had gained a lot of information while inside the Sith's mind. The question that plagued him however, was how much did she _really_ know about this Sith?

Luke followed the two quietly as Leia led them straight to an unoccupied set of quarters. He watched as Talon stopped in the doorway and stared stupidly at the luxurious opulence inside.

Thick soft carpeting covered the entire floor in a light tan that was almost the same color as the stone flooring that she was used to seeing. Lots of soft thick cushions were placed neatly on nearly everything to provide a comfortable cushion wherever it was needed. Everything had been done in rich warm tones of tan and gold color, and unlike anything she'd ever seen on Korriban, there was nothing harsh or cold about any of it.

"Come on in, Talon. Make yourself comfortable." Leia told her pleasantly after placing the girl's satchel on the room's workstation.

"This. This is yours?" Talon asked in stunned disbelief as she continued to stare at the various creature comforts that were available. Not even the personal quarters of Darth Magus had been as nice as the room Talon was now looking at.

Leia laughed lightly at the surprised tone in the girl's voice.

"No, it's not mine exactly. This ship is the new Jedi Diplomatic vessel. Here we can host various negotiations for different worlds in a truly neutral ground, so that neither of the dignitaries or representatives involved feels that they are at a disadvantage. But we also have a section of living quarters that are separate from the rest of the ship so that we can relax among ourselves. We have a large communal meditation hall, training room, and cafeteria for interacting with our fellow Jedi, but we also have private space here as well. You can use these quarters while we are on board. Through that doorway is a sleeping chamber and a refresher, and this door leads to a small private meditation chamber." Leia told Talon gently.

Luke watched the girl intently as she stood there in the doorway gaping at his sister in shock. What had caught his full attention was that fact that as stunned as she obviously was, Talon had not released her hold on her weapons through the Force. Luke was perplexed by this because normally, it required a lot of concentration to maintain a telekinetic hold on any object, and here this child was maintaining such a hold on two objects and apparently doing so without any conscious effort.

After several seconds of staring at the Jedi with a dumbfounded expression on her face, Talon stepped into the room. The thick carpet felt warm, and soft on her bare feet. She looked around for a place to set her staves down and decided to lean them against the wall.

Both of the Jedi gaped in surprise when they heard the stressed durasteel walls groan from the strain of supporting such a large weight that was counter to the way the walls were designed.

"Just how heavy are those things?" Leia asked in surprise.

"1000 kilograms each. The Masters told me that I have to use them until I'm skilled enough to receive my own lightsaber." Talon answered as she removed the heavy staves from the wall and laid them on the floor.

"I... I was never allowed to try to build one of my own." She added lowering her head in shame thinking that the two Jedi would then demand that she give up the lightsabers that she had gathered for survival.

"That's not important right now, Talon. Everyone learns at a different pace. One day you'll construct your own lightsaber; until then, you may train and study with my sister or I, until you are ready." Luke told her quietly.

The shocks and surprises just kept coming. One minute she was witnessing the gruesome death of everyone she'd ever known, and the total destruction of the only life she had, and the next, she was being handed more possibilities than she'd ever dared to dream of. The prospect of living without being in constant pain and fear filled the girl's mind with a distant glimmer of something approaching hope as she looked at the two Jedi.

Knowing that Talon was extremely uncomfortable in the current environmental settings Leia went over to the controls and not only lowered the lighting, but also the temperature as well.

As the lights dimmed dramatically, Talon reached up and removed the hood of her cloak, and once more those disturbingly gold irises could be clearly seen glowing unnaturally with the flow of the darkside of the Force. Then the ventilators kicked in and a wash of deliciously cool air swept through the room causing the temperature to drop swiftly. Both of the Jedi shivered from the sudden temperature change, but Talon simply removed her cloak completely and gave a large sigh of relief after being released from the oppressive heat.

Talon walked over to the workstation and began removing the four lightsabers attached to her belt. Then she took a deep breath to steady herself and turned to face the two Jedi.

"What's going to happen to me now?" She asked worriedly.

"Well, one of the first things that we're going to do is get you settled, and then I thought we might sit down and enjoy a meal together and get to know more about each other. How does that sound?" Leia responded.

Before Talon could answer the question, her stomach did that for her by rumbling loudly at the mere mention of food.

Luke burst out laughing at the sound of the surprisingly loud noise coming from the midsection of such a small girl.

"The last time I heard anyone's stomach sound like that was when Chewbacca went a full day without eating anything!" The Jedi Master said still chuckling. "Come on Leia, we can get her settled in later, right now it sounds like she's hungry enough to eat a whole bantha."

"That sounds like an excellent idea, besides; we'll need to introduce her to Han and the others." Leia said in agreement.

"Uh, actually, they couldn't make it. I did get the chance to message Ben, and he'll probably show up later, but Han was in the middle of something when I got your message so I came in my old X-wing." Luke told his sister.

Leia shook her head in exasperation.

"Let me guess, the hyperdrive again?" Leia spoke amusedly.

She was not surprised in the least by her brother's affirmative nod. Leia knew that no matter how many places they might live, for Captain Han Solo, the only place that would ever actually be home for him was the Millennium Falcon.

"Well, since it's just going to be the three of us, what would you like to eat?" Leia asked Talon.

"I... I don't understand what you mean." Talon replied nervously as she cringed back away from Leia.

Leia was about to elaborate when suddenly it hit her. The girl probably didn't know what kinds of different food was available, and was probably more than glad to eat whatever was put in front of her, why else would she have eaten not one, but nearly a dozen packets of Kel Dor emergency rations?

"Don't worry about it, Talon. Just understand that we won't feed you anything like that that last meal you ate." Leia said with a light smile.

Leia went to the data terminal and placed an order for a meal to be brought in by droid. In the meantime she went about setting the table for three.

When Leia finished setting the table she knew that she had to do something about the information that the girl had in her possession. Talon had gone over to one of the chairs and was standing by it while trying to watch everything at once. Leia walked over and knelt down in front of the girl.

"Talon, I'd like to talk to you about the modified data pad in your satchel. Do you know what kind of information it contains?" Leia asked softly but with a not quite hidden urgency.

Leia's tone of voice caught his attention instantly. Luke could tell not only from her tone, but also from the sensations that he was receiving through the Force, that there was something Leia wanted very badly.

"I think that's what the Masters were using to teach us from." Talon answered uncertainly. "I took it so that I could try to keep learning to wield the Force even though I wouldn't have anyone to teach me anymore." She continued in a small voice, certain that she was going to be punished for her audacity.

"That's what I mean Talon. Now that you're here with us, we'll be happy to teach you more about the Force and how to understand its ways. But the real reason I'm asking about it, is because I think that there might be some information in there that we may not have, so I would like to have our records keeper go over it in detail to see if there are any differences." Leia told the girl earnestly.

Luke could tell that his sister was holding something back, but the near urgency in her tone said that she thought the data contained in that satchel was vitally important.

Talon had no clue as to why the Jedi was asking her, the satchel didn't belong to her anyway. The only things that were ever hers were the few training weapons that her Master had given her. So without really understanding what was being asked of her, Talon nodded her agreement.

Leia let out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Thank you Talon! I only hope that one day you'll truly understand what's happening here today." Leia said with heartfelt gratitude.

Leia knew that she hadn't been completely honest with the girl about the information in her possession, but she hadn't been dishonest about it either. Nonetheless, Leia intended to make certain that Talon was well rewarded for the contribution of knowledge that might be made from the information she'd brought with her.

"I know from what I read that it contains the knowledge about techniques of the Force from both the records of the original Sith Lords and the Jedi archives during the Exar Kun war. I didn't have time to figure out which was which though, because I was sure that the Guardians were already closing in on me. But, I did see a reference to a map with the location of a collection of holocrons with the actual knowledge of the ancients." Talon said quietly.

"I don't suppose that you know the general location of where those holocrons might be, do you?" Luke asked cautiously trying not to get his hopes too high, while trying to master his excitement at the possibility of the full restoration of the Jedi archives.

"I've never been that deep. From what I saw on the map, it's far below the cavern tombs where the Guardians live. We can't get past them. I don't know how I'm still alive." Talon said with a fearful shake of her head.

"Guardians? What are they?" Luke asked curiously.

"I think she means the tarentatek. Luke, they were everywhere! I saw her memories, she fought her way through dozens, even _hundreds_ of them, and there were several times that number still roaming free after she managed to escape. They slaughtered everyone but her." Leia put in quietly.

"This isn't something that we can to deal with right now, but if there is a chance of finding functioning holocrons, then we'll eventually have to make an attempt to retrieve them." Luke said more to himself than anyone else.

Before anything else could be said, the door chime sounded announcing the arrival of the droid bringing in their food.

"Thank you CP-56. Can you tell me if there are any tailor droids on board?" Leia asked as the droid placed the food tray on the table.

"Of course Madam, I myself am quite capable of performing in that regard; however I am not programmed for fashion design, therefore I would need a predesigned pattern to complete any custom construction, but any needed alterations are well within my abilities." The droid answered.

"Excellent! I'll need you to return in two hours to create a set of Jedi robes for my guest." Leia ordered.

The mouthwatering smells of well seasoned nerf steaks smothered in a tan colored sauce, and various vegetables drew Talon over to the table. She stared silently at the viands in front of her. Never in her life had she seen such a large amount of food at any one time. She thought that the stuff on the plates was food, but it wasn't anything that she could recognize. Normally, she and the rest of the students at the Sith academy were given a single packet of emergency rations and told to make it last them the entire day, on rare occasions they had sometimes been given two. Now she stared at more food than she'd be allowed in days, and this caused her stomach to rumble angrily.

Hearing such a loud gurgle coming from such a small girl, Luke laughed again.

"I think we need to give our small hairless Wookie here something to eat before she takes a bite out of the table." Luke joked as he began placing fairly large portions of food on each of the plates.

Talon looked over at Luke before looking back at the table. When the girl started checking out the wooden construction of it, Luke would have sworn that she was actually considering trying to eat it.

"This can be food?" Talon asked uncertainly.

Both Jedi froze as they stared at Talon in disbelief.

"No, the table can not be food, Talon. My brother was trying to make a joke. He never did have a very good sense of humor. Go ahead and sit down, I know you're hungry." Leia told her kindly.

"That? That's for me? All of it?" Talon asked pointing at the plate of food in front of the chair she was standing by.

When both of the Jedi nodded their heads, Talon hesitantly climbed in the chair after seeing that the Jedi expected her to sit in it, and started using her hands to tear her way through the food on her plate with a speed that would have put a starving Hutt to shame.

"Whoa! Slow down Talon! Hey, look, no one's going to take it away from you, okay? Besides, you'll make yourself sick eating that fast. Just slow down and when you finish that, then you can have more if you want." Luke nearly shouted when he saw the girl try to cram a fourth of the steak into her mouth at once.

Not wanting to be punished for disobedience, Talon did as she was told, although she did watch the two Jedi warily as they each sat down on either side of her with Leia on her right and Luke on her left. Then they fixed their own plates before they too started eating.

"Talon, stop for just a second please. You need to use the tableware. If you don't know how, just watch me and I'll demonstrate. It's more polite, doesn't make a mess, and you end up getting all of the food in your mouth instead of on your clothes." Leia corrected the girl.

Talon watched carefully as Leia cut up her food using the knife and fork, and then did her best to duplicate the procedure. It wasn't as easy as it looked, but Talon was able to make some use of the dinnerware, and did her best to imitate the two Jedi sitting on either side of her. Although both of them had noticed it, neither of the two Jedi commented on the fact that Talon held her fork in the same way that a first time student would grip a lightsaber.

She couldn't believe how slowly they were eating. On Korriban, the Masters had always made them eat as fast as possible so they could resume their training. The ability to observe what was going on around her had helped her avoid being punished on a few occasions, and Talon was putting this skill to use now as she saw that the Jedi were taking the time to enjoy the meal. She tried to match the rate at which they were eating, but it wasn't easy. A lifetime of near constant hunger pangs, pain, and fear were not easily overcome.

She was just putting one of the last few bites in her mouth when she saw Luke's arm stretch towards her plate. Thinking that her food was about to be taken from her, Talon quickly shoved the rest of her food in her mouth and tried to swallow it whole.

Luke dropped the slice of nerf steak on Talon's plate as he moved around behind her to help the now choking girl.

"Take it easy, relax. Here just hold still for a second." Luke told her before he used the Force to perform a makeshift Heimlich maneuver.

"That's one of many reasons that you shouldn't try to eat so fast Talon." Leia said as the girl finally managed to get the food in her mouth chewed well enough to swallow without choking this time.

Talon nodded her head while she caught her breath. When she was able to breath again she looked down at her plate and saw the second steak that Luke had placed there. Her stomach gurgled happily as she began to cut it into smaller bites to eat in the way that she'd seen the Jedi do.

By the end of her third helping, Talon had slown down considerably. Both siblings could see that she was going to forcibly stuff herself until she burst, or there was nothing left if they didn't stop her.

"Talon, that's enough for now. If you eat any more you'll get sick, and if you get hungry later, we'll get you some more. Right now, I'd like to talk to you about the levels of your training." Leia said firmly.

Talon nodded her head as she slid the now empty plate away from her. There was still food left on the platters, and she kept her eyes focused on it.

"First I need to apologize for entering your mind while you were unconscious. But what I really want to know about is how you learned to use a pair of staves in the manner that I witnessed from your memories. That would translate to a form of lightsaber combat that I don't think anyone has ever heard of before. Can you tell me about it?" Leia asked softly.

Leia knew that Talon had been treated callously throughout her entire life, and that a few simple acts of kindness had seemed to help earn the girl's tentative trust, but she knew that it wouldn't take much to violate that trust, so she knew that she was walking on very delicate ground with the girl. There was no way that either she or her brother could resort to the level of cruelty needed to force the girl's cooperation. That was a path that led nowhere but the darkside, and needless to say, neither of them would ever willingly take a single step down any such path.

"What does that mean?" Talon asked in a confused tone.

"What does what mean?" Leia countered.

"Apologize. I don't know what that means." Talon answered softly.

"That means that Leia knows that what she did was wrong, and that she feels bad for doing it. It also means that she doesn't want you to be angry at her for doing it." Luke said after struggling to come up with an explanation that might make sense to someone that had never heard of kindness, compassion, friendship, mercy, or love.

"For someone to enter your mind without your permission is wrong, and that is what I'm apologizing for." Leia explained.

"The mind of a student must always be open to any Master for any reason." Talon cited by rote in a small voice as she looked down at the table.

Leia reached over to take the girl's chin in her hand and lifted her head to make eye contact. Looking in to those glowing amber eyes, Leia could see the turmoil of mixed and conflicting emotions contained in the girl's mind.

"Not anymore, Talon. From now on, they need to have your permission, understand?" Leia said softly but firmly.

Talon wasn't sure that she did understand this, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Good! Now, can you tell me about the twin staff technique?" Leia asked in a gentler tone.

"What do you want to know?" Talon asked with some hesitation.

"Everything." Leia said simply.

"It's called Whirlus, or Way of the Wind, or The Speed Form." She began. Then, Talon began to hesitantly explain the principals of wielding two staves or a pair of double bladed lightsabers. As her explanations continued, Luke began asking questions about the difficulties in learning the techniques. It wasn't long before both Jedi realized that after having completely Mastered the other seven forms of lightsaber combat; Talon's Sith Master had decided to force the girl to develop and pioneer an eighth form of lightsaber combat that no one in the Jedi order would know how to defend against.

"How many others were they teaching to use this new lightsaber form?" Luke asked heavily.

"The Masters insisted that we were all going to master the Whirlus form before any more of us were granted the trial of constructing our lightsabers." Talon answered.

"But if you not only mastered the form, but developed it, then why didn't they let you try to build your own lightsaber?" Leia asked puzzled.

As soon as Leia asked the question, both Jedi felt the almost overwhelming sense of shame that flooded the girl's mind as Talon looked down at the table.

"Because I never learned how to hate, or summon the rage which are the true weapons of a Sith." Talon answered in a humiliated whisper.

Upon hearing that answer both Jedi siblings exchanged a look that said each of them were thinking the same thing. It was Luke that spoke first.

"It's true that without anger and hate that you'd never make a very good Sith, but I believe that you might make an excellent Jedi, and if you'll let us, we'd like to teach you." Luke offered.

"You need to understand though, that the ways of the Sith and the Jedi are very different, Talon. We Jedi do not hurt others or cause them pain unless we have no other choice. Do you think that would be something you can live with?" Leia asked in a firm tone as she got up from the table and walked over to the workstation.

Talon couldn't understand it. Her entire life, she'd been taught that the Jedi were cruel even beyond the means of the Sith. Yet, neither one of these Jedi had tried to hurt her. The female had even stopped the male from entering her mind, something that as painful and terrifying as it had been, was still something that she'd come to accept as normal. Instead of pain, there were promises of protection, instead of punishment, there was explanation. It made no sense to her; she didn't believe that they were trying to deceive her, because they were both being open enough that she could feel the truth of their offers.

Not knowing what else to do, Talon put her head in her hands to try to think. Everything was so confusing. These couldn't be the Jedi that she'd been warned about. After all, hadn't Leia dismantled her lightsaber to prove that she wasn't going to cause pain? Wasn't she allowed to keep her weapons, even the lightsabers that she'd never had the right to even practice with? Even now, wasn't her stomach hurting from eating more food than she'd ever seen for six people?

Talon's confused thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of many objects clattering onto the table. When she looked up she saw the parts from all four of the lightsabers that she brought with her from Korriban laying on the table.

Her confusion was evident in her golden eyes as she looked up at Leia questioningly.

Leia calmly resumed her seat next to Talon and spread out the parts of her own now completely disassembled lightsaber in front of her.

"Okay, Talon. Since you know how to use a lightsaber, even better than I do. Let's see if you can assemble one after watching me." Leia said with a light smile.

Talon gaped at the Jedi. Too stunned to even think at the moment, she could only continue staring with her mouth hanging open as Leia slowly began putting her lightsaber back together, while making sure that Talon could see every step of the process. When she was finished she ignited the lightsaber, letting the blade of blue energy plasma glow brightly in the dim lighting. Then she deactivated it and laid it aside.

Talon swallowed hard as she reached a shaking hand towards one of the casings to a single hilt lightsaber. As she stared at the parts in front of her she saw Luke pull out his own lightsaber and open it. In seconds, the former Jedi Grand Master had a collection of parts in front of him as well.

"Go ahead; I'll do it with you." Luke encouraged her.

In a seeming daze, Talon reached for the Force to give her strength. Both Jedi were instantly amazed at the level of connection that the girl was able to achieve. What neither of them realized was that the very weakness that would allow anyone with even limited training to enter and then dominate her mind, became a tremendous asset when it came to opening herself to the Force. With no defenses, no shielding, and guarded thoughts to impede its entry, the Force flowed into Talon's mind with a strength of connection that few had ever or would ever achieve.

Seemingly of their own volition, Talon's hands began to move. Dropping the casing, her left hand picked up the harnessing chamber, while her right hand reached for and grabbed the energy modulator. After connecting the two, Talon picked up the emitter array and attached that as well. Then she slid the components into one half of the case that she'd picked up earlier. With those in place, Talon snatched up one of the crystals and placed it in the emitter, before attaching the focusing lens. After adding the power cells, Talon made a minute adjustment to the lens before she picked up the other half of the case and closed the lightsaber up. Laying the first one aside, Talon proceeded to assemble the remaining three lightsabers in short order before laying them aside as well.

Both Jedi looked at her in surprise as Talon suddenly seemed to become aware of herself once more.

Talon sat there staring at the lightsabers in front of her. She was sure that she had cheated and would be punished for it. Leia had told her to put one together, but hadn't given her permission to use the Force to do it. Talon hadn't meant to use the Force that way, she'd only meant to draw some strength from it, but now, she was sure to suffer for her actions.

As Talon sat at the table waiting for a punishment that would never come, Luke reached over and picked up one of the lightsabers. Upon ignition, the brilliant red blade flashed into existence and hummed with the fury of barely contained energy.

When the girl finally looked over at him, Luke gave her a grin.

"Very well done! The method that you used made it a lot easier to get the parts in the case; it's almost the same way I first assembled mine." Luke told her while leaving out the fact that he'd had to learn the methods of construction from a Force ghost, or that it had taken much longer to actually build his rather than simply assemble it.

"You. You're not angry at me?" Talon stammered in disbelief.

"No, Talon. You did it right, and even if you hadn't, the only punishment would have been that you would have to try again later. For now these are your lightsabers to use while training. Later, you can choose a color besides red, and you can earn the chance to actually build ones that are uniquely yours, rather than just reassemble someone else's." Luke said gently.

Luke shut down the Sith weapon and quickly rebuilt his lightsaber. More than three decades of practice let him cut the assembly time down to mere seconds. He couldn't help but smile at the look of awe on Talon's face as she watched. It had been several years since he'd worked with a half trained student. He almost laughed as he sardonically realized that Talon was literally half trained. He grinned slightly as he realized just how interesting things were going to be at the academy when Talon got there.

The door chime sounded once more as CP-56 announced his arrival. Luke left using the excuse of checking on Han's progress with the Falcon in order to give Talon some privacy while having her clothes made.

An hour later, Talon was standing in front of a mirror looking at the clothes she was wearing. Solid white and composed of a satin like material, the robes had been made from several of the medical coverings that were on board the vessel. Thermally speaking, the robes would do nothing to keep the person wearing them warm, but given that Talon was accustomed to the rather piercing cold of Korriban's underground caverns, there was no problem with it.

While Talon was getting a set of new clothing made and fitted to her, Leia had spoken with Captain Keldaani. According to the Captain, it had been an absolute miracle that the ship's power had lasted long enough to bring it out of hyperspace without crashing it into something sooner. The Captain also informed her that The Alderaan had entered orbit and that she could take a shuttle to the surface at any time. Leia gave instructions to refuel and repair the small craft to as near factory condition as possible.

Just one more piece of proof to show her that Talon's presence was the will of the Force.

Leia gave instructions to have the Sith fighter delivered to the Jedi enclave, after the liftoff coordinates were logged. Before preparing to leave the Alderaan, Leia had Talon spend some time in the refresher to get the smell of the sanitizer off of her. Leia was really shocked that she'd had to show Talon how to use the refresher and everything in it, including the follicle remover. Talon had then explained that at the Sith Academy they had been provided nothing but sani-wipes to clean them selves up with. Leia had been mortified that she had to explain the purpose of underclothes to the girl before she put them on. While Talon was getting dressed, Luke sent her a message through the Force saying that he would join them shortly. After the girl was dressed; Leia tried to do something with Talon's hair, and it took the Jedi more than an hour to deal with the tangled and knotted mess of hair that had never seen a brush. She was a little surprised that the girl made no complaints about having her hair pulled, and even though she tried to be careful, Leia was certain that some of it had to be painful. Once she finished with the girl's hair; Leia gathered Talon's meager belongings and made ready to leave.

Talon kept the hood of her cloak pulled low over her eyes to shield them from the bright lights in the corridors. Even so, she still passed many people who greeted both her and Leia cheerily.

When they got to the shuttle, Leia began stowing their belongings for the trip to the surface. Leia had already packed her luggage on board earlier, so she was mostly dealing with a safe place to store Talon's satchel with its now precious contents. After stowing the satchel, Leia showed Talon where to put her staves so that they wouldn't endanger the shuttle by rolling or shifting around.

Leia piloted the shuttle down herself, and let Talon have the co-pilot seat. Talon stared out through the polarized view port in silent awe as they descended towards the surface of Corruscant. The gleaming spires of the planet wide city stretched to nearly impossible heights, and even large speeder cars looked like mere specks in comparison.

The sense of awe and wonder that Leia felt flowing through the Force made her look at the massive city from the perspective of someone who had never seen it before. While she did appreciate the beauty of natural landscapes, she did have to admit that there was a type of elegant almost surreal beauty to the scene below.

When Leia landed the shuttle on the pad of the Jedi complex, they were met by Saba Sebatyne who waited to greet Leia while she disembarked. The Barabel ruffled her scales in surprise when she saw Leia guiding what appeared to be an apprentice out of the shuttle.

The lights on board the ship had been painful, but this level of light was incomprehensible to Talon. Even with the hood of the cloak pulled down over her eyes to help block out most of the light, she was still squinting as her eyes watered in pain. Unable to see more than a step in front of her she had no choice but to go where Leia's hand on her back led her.

Master Sebatyne looked at the youngling curiously. She could easily sense the waves of tension, fear, discomfort, and pain rolling off the child, and she was sure that Leia could sense it as well. Why there would be fear in the youngling when she was now in the very heart of the Jedi order puzzled Jedi Master greatly. This was the primary temple, home of the Jedi council, a safe haven, a sanctuary for all to come to when in need of solace, and yet this youngling was afraid? The Barabel wondered if it might have something to do with the pain and discomfort that she felt emanating from the student. She could see that the hood of her cloak was pulled so low that vision must be almost completely blocked, and the steps were hesitant, as if she were unable to see her footing.

Deciding that questions could wait until after the youngling was properly cared for, Master Sebatyne stepped forward to greet the two.

"This one is pleased to see you again Jedi Solo. She has questions that can wait until the youngling is no longer suffering." The Jedi Master said looking at Talon's cloaked figure with concern.

"Thank you Saba. This is Talon and I really need to get her inside. She's never been exposed to this kind of light and heat before." Leia responded as she began guiding the blinded girl inside the temple.

Inside the temple of the Jedi complex, the lighting was still painfully bright, and the oppressive heat had lessened only slightly. Talon's breath was coming in short gasps as she fought to breath in what felt to her like one of the lava caverns of Korriban. Beneath her thick cloak she was sweating profusely and was beginning to feel light headed.

Talon felt Leia's hand guide her to a stop. Then Leia readjusted her cloak so that it was no longer wrapped around her so much, but was still positioned to provide some relief from the intense light.

As soon as Leia began adjusting the child's cloak, Saba saw that the youngling's thin clothes were soaked in sweat. The Barabel wasn't sure if the sweating was caused by the fear, but she did know that loosing that much of the body's fluids could be dangerous.

"We should take her to the infirmary. This one does not like to see a youngling in such distress." Saba intoned.

"My thoughts exactly. There we can get her into environmental settings that she can be comfortable in while we get some quarters set up for her. I also want the temple's medical technicians take a look at her; she's recently been through a rough time and will need some rather extensive counseling." Leia replied heavily.

The Barabel looked at Talon again, noting that the girl was starting to walk in an unsteady manner.

The Jedi Master now had enough information to realize that the youngling was not in very good condition at all. Saba didn't hesitate as she swept the child up in her arms to carry her to the infirmary. She felt the girl go completely rigid and sensed a wave of near terror sweep through the Force.

"Easy little one. This one will carry you so that you do not exert yourself." Saba told her quietly.

"Relax Talon, Saba's a friend. She's going to carry you to the infirmary where we can get you taken care of properly. I'll be right here with you the whole way." Leia told her while laying a hand gently on Talon's shoulder and sending soothing waves of energy through the Force.

As lightheaded and dizzy as she was from the heat, Talon still recognized the voice of the woman who she now considered to be her Jedi Master. Afraid of being punished for disobedience, Talon did as she was told. With one arm over the reptilian Jedi's shoulder and the other hanging free, Talon made sure to keep her staves out of the way so as not to trip anyone.

Saba could feel the sweat drenched robes of the child in her arms. She had no clue as to what type of planet the child came from, but she knew that the temperatures here among the upper levels of the spires were fairly mild by most standards; therefore she knew that it had to be someplace very cold.

"Put your thoughts at ease, it is not so far now." Saba said reassuringly.

The heat aboard the ship had been intense, but here, she felt that there had to be an entirely new word for this kind of heat. It was almost like a physical thing bearing down on her. Then she had to fully close her eyes as sweat began to run into them.

Talon heard Leia give some commands to someone else, but couldn't make out the words. Then, she was being placed on a soft surface of some kind, and a cooling gust of air washed over her body. It took several minutes for Talon to realize that she was no longer seeing a red blaze through her eyelids. She used her shoulder to wipe the sweat away and squeezed her eyes open just a crack.

Seeing that the lights were now at a level that she could at least tolerate. Talon sat up and switched her right hand staff over and held both of her staves in her left hand, while she pulled the hood of her cloak off of her head.

"Why don't you put those on the floor so they won't be in the way while we get you taken care of?" Leia asked her with a pointed glance at her staves.

Talon nodded and let her two weapons ease to the floor, and left them there while she looked around. She still felt lightheaded, but that was beginning to pass now that she was out of the heat.

Master Sebatyne stared as Leia reset the environmental controls over Talon's bed to a level that was near freezing. She knew that here in the infirmary, each bed had an overhead ventilator that could create a small area suited for nearly any type of oxygen breathing life form while nearby intakes would recondition the surrounding air to match standard settings. Thus a Jawa would be able to rest comfortably in a bed set to duplicate the hot and arid conditions of Tatooine while the wampa strapped the next bed was just as comfortable in their own micro environment. It was a fairly expensive setup, but one that kept all patients in the best possible spirits to promote healing.

The Barabel turned her attention from the controls to Leia.

"This one thinkz you've set those controlz to be almost as cold as Hoth!" Saba intoned as she ruffled her scales.

"Not quite, but they are set to be as cold as Korriban, because that's where she's from." Leia answered.

Saba snapped her attention from the Jedi Knight to the child still sitting in the bed appraising her silently. Eyes glowing with the color of liquid gold looked back at her from a face that was all too pale.

"She is _Sith_?" Saba questioned instantly as she placed her hand on her lightsaber hilt.

Leia sighed heavily. She'd known that this would be hard for many to accept, but she was also determined to see it through.

"Not exactly and not anymore. She's here with us now, so that she can learn the ways of the Jedi instead of those adhered to by the Sith." Leia said in simple explanation.

"And you are certain that Master Skywalker knowz of this?" Saba questioned irritatedly.

"Yes, I do." Luke answered as he entered the infirmary wearing a grey civilian styled flight suit and a noticeably empty hook on his utility belt where his lightsaber usually hung. "I'm aware of some of what the girl has been through, and from what little I've seen for myself, I'm convinced that what she will experience while she's here will bring her around to embrace the tenets of the order. It's going to be an exchange of information. The order will teach her about our way of living and doing things, and she will teach us a few things as well."

"This one can understand about teaching the youngling our skillz, but what does she have to teach us?" Saba asked with narrowed eyes.

Luke grinned at the Jedi Master as he made his reply. "I'm sure that you saw her carrying a long staff in each hand, right? Well, apparently she can use both of them in a fight."

Master Sebatyne sissed in surprise. "At the same time? That is something that this one would like to see." She said in appreciation.

"That will have to wait until later. If she's in my infirmary, then obviously, there is a reason for it." Cilghal rumbled as she came in.

The Mon Calamari appraised Talon critically as she approached. As a medical technician and a Jedi Master, Cilghal had specialized in healing both with science and through use of the healing techniques of the Force.

This time, Talon was aware of being hooked up to intravenous units to speed up the rehydration process. She didn't say anything as she was treated for malnutrition, and vitamin deficiencies. But when the Jedi healer brought her a glass of a thick nearly gel like fluid that was obviously not water, Talon looked up at Leia questioningly. When the Jedi nodded, Talon started drinking the stuff.

Thick, slightly sweet, but salty and bitter at the same time, it was mostly bland, and at luke warm temperature would have made almost any sentient being with a sense of taste gag in revulsion. Having been forced to live on whatever emergency rations were the cheapest at the time and therefore not always made for humans, Talon was decidedly not picky about what she put in her stomach to quell her hunger or thirst, and as long as it remotely resembled some type of food or drink that she was familiar with, she had no qualms about consuming it.

Leia suppressed a shudder as she watched Talon drain the glass of electrolyte gel without any qualms. With a slight shake of her head, Leia realized that Talon had to be thirsty after sweating the way she had.

"Do you want some more?" Leia asked in a kind tone while internally dreading the answer.

After Talon nodded timidly, Cilghal turned to get another serving of the much hated substance.

"Finally, a patient that knows what's good for her!" Cilghal rumbled happily while she watched Talon drain the second glass of thick fluid.

"Hah! That's what you think Cilghal! I think her taste buds might be burnt out, because. . . ." Although she had started out making a joke at the healer's expense, Leia now paused and looked at Talon thoughtfully.

"Because of what?" Cilghal demanded.

"Because she was rendered unconscious after eating Kel Dor rations." Leia answered quietly.

The Mon Cal Jedi blinked and huffed in surprise before fixing Talon with a hard look.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that even the smell of their food was noxious to humans." She said turning her attention back to Leia.

"It is. But she consumed enough of it that her stomach still had to be pumped after a flight from Korriban." Leia answered.

Cilghal didn't say anything as she began examining Talon with both the medical sensors and the Force. She saw that Talon was trying to watch everything that she was doing, and the Jedi Master made no attempt to hide any of her actions. It was when the healer started using the Force to examine Talon's state of general health that she noticed something odd.

The girl had gone completely rigid and her vital signs elevated way beyond normal as a wave of fear and expectant tension flowed through the Force. Cilghal stopped her exam and looked at Talon curiously as she held up a hand to forestall any comments from anyone else.

"Do you think I'm going to hurt you?" Cilghal asked softly.

Talon's bottom lip trembled as she debated whether or not to answer the question.

"Go ahead Talon, tell her the truth." Leia prodded softly.

Talon hesitated for a brief moment then nodded as she looked down at her lap.

"That... It... I always get hurt when the Masters come in. Except when. . . ." Talon trailed off as she glanced at Leia.

Not quite sure what to make of that comment, Cilghal made a tentative probe at the child's mind. When she encountered no resistance, she took that as an invitation and entered slowly.

Once inside Talon's mind Cilghal found an image waiting for her that rocked her to her core with revulsion. In pure angry disgust she wiped the image away and quickly replaced it with one that was more morally acceptable to her principals.

Once again, Talon found herself in a room filled with countless streams of water cascading down step like structures. That same warm golden white glow surrounded everything, and she was dressed in the robes that Leia had given her to wear.

In her mind, Talon gaped in fear when images of the other three Jedi appeared. Sliding off the small platform she'd found herself sitting on, she backed away from the four Jedi.

"_Relax, Talon. We're not here to hurt you." _Leia told her gently.

Suddenly Talon found her staves in her hands, while at the same time the lightsabers of the Jedi vanished in flashes of light. She saw the image of Leia walking slowly towards her. Memories of previous encounters with multiple Masters flashed through her thoughts, as Talon dropped her weapons and huddled on the floor in a fetal position.

An onslaught of pure terror crashed over the four Jedi with the power of an exploding star. The images of the Jedi staggered as they were nearly overwhelmed by it.

Talon curled up as tightly as she could. She'd been through this before and she knew, just _knew_ what was about to happen. A whimper escaped her lips as she felt someone's hands pulling her into a sitting position. In desperation she shut her eyes trying to close out the image in her mind, but it didn't work. Then she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her in a way that she'd only felt once before.

Shaking from panic and fear, Talon looked up into Leia's eyes as the Jedi smiled at her.

"_Talon, I told you that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, and I won't. We don't do the kinds of things your Sith Masters did, and to be honest, if I could get my hands on them right now, I'd kill them for doing those things to you."_ The image of Leia told her.

Talon could feel the honesty in the Jedi's words, just as she could feel the concern of the other three Jedi that were in her mind.

In her mind, Talon froze as one of the Jedi began exuding a wave of calm that drowned out her fear. She knew what was happening, but she couldn't do anything about it. She wanted to be afraid. Being afraid of the Masters at the Sith academy had saved her life many times, and now she wasn't being allowed to be afraid.

"_I'm sorry to have to do that to you Talon. But I need you to be able to listen and understand what we're doing here. We're here to help you, not hurt you. I'm not sure exactly what your Sith Masters did to you back on Korriban, when they forced their way into your mind, but here no one is allowed to force their way into another person's mind! I know that you believe that you have a reason to be afraid of us. You have a right to be afraid, but you don't have to live in fear. We are not going to hurt you. Not in your mind, and not physically either. Do you understand?"_ The image of Luke spoke in a kind but firm tone.

Talon nodded hesitantly even though she didn't believe it. She wanted to believe what the Jedi had told her, oh how she wanted to believe it, but what she'd learned from past experience wouldn't let her believe it.

Suddenly the images of the Jedi and even the room vanished instantly as she was left alone in her mind.

Talon gaped in surprise as she opened her eyes to see Luke apologizing to the other Jedi for forcing them out of her mind.

"You sensed what she was feeling. I'm sorry, but there is no way that I'd willingly put anyone through that kind of trauma. I don't care what they've done, no one deserves that." Luke said heavily as he looked each of the others in the eye one at a time.

"This one can not accept an apology when it is not deserved. This one would have to be both blind and stupid not to know that great harm has befallen the youngling inside her own mind. She also knows that you did what was needed for the young one's safety. It painz this one greatly to know that even here, of all places, one so young would have reason to be so afraid." Master Sebatyne said sorrowfully.

"Master Sebatyne is right, Luke. You have nothing to apologize for. I think that as much as you needed to do that for your conscience, she also needed you to do it to show her that we are _not_ like those she knew before! So do not apologize when there has been no wrong." Cilghal rumbled approvingly.

"Do you see Talon? We are not like what you've been taught. I know you don't believe it yet, but one day perhaps, you'll be able to see the truth for yourself, and when that day comes, you won't need to be afraid anymore." Leia whispered to the girl she held in her arms.

Talon didn't know what to say or do. Never before had anyone protected her from such things. The pain, misery, humiliation, and horror of being forced to envision and feel her body being repeatedly used by others, sometimes many at once, for their own twisted reasons was something she'd had to live with her entire life. Now, she was being told that she would never have to live through such an experience again.

For the first time in her life, tears formed in Talon's glowing amber colored eyes. She had no words for the emotions that welled up in her mind, because she'd never experienced them before, but it wasn't more than a few seconds before those tears were accompanied by choked sobs as she cried for the first time in her life.

Leia held the girl as her tears escalated first into actual crying and then into heart rending sobs. She, more than anyone knew what Talon had been through. As a mother, Leia had seen her children face more than a few fears and dangerous situations, but nothing that compared to the continuous nightmare that this child called her life. She knew that she could calm the girl's tears with just a small amount of Force usage, but she also knew that doing so wouldn't help.

Leia knew that what she held in her arms wasn't someone who had mastered every known form of lightsaber combat and then developed another, nor was it a Force user who had managed to do the unthinkable and single handedly fight their way out of a literal army of tarentateks. No, at this time she knew that she held a small girl who had been forever alone in the universe, and was now sobbing out an entire lifetime of her misery, fear, anguish, and relief. She knew that it would be best to just let the girl cry herself out, and release the emotional turmoil that had been pent up for so many long and miserable years.

Cilghal nodded both to herself and to Leia, letting her know that as much as the child needed her physical rest; mentally, she needed this even more. She let her hand rest on Leia's shoulder for a brief moment before heading off to have some things made for the child so that she would be able to tolerate the local environment.

Talon didn't know what she was doing. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before; all she knew was that she couldn't stop. She'd seen this type of thing happen to some of the other students at the academy a few times, and each time, that student had been executed as being unworthy of being called a Sith. Now she was doing it and she couldn't stop, moreover, she didn't want to.

Leia continued to hold Talon in her arms until the girl had cried herself to sleep. Once she did, Leia eased her down gently. Moving silently so she didn't wake the now mentally exhausted girl up, Leia left the bed and motioned for both Luke and Saba to follow her.


	3. Chapter 3

SW3

Luke watched both of his fellow Jedi carefully as he followed them out of the infirmary. He could easily sense the outraged disgust and more than a touch of anger from his sister. That such emotions could be felt in a Jedi Knight was one thing, but to sense almost those exact same feelings in a Jedi Master was another thing entirely. The former Jedi Grand Master knew the cause of those violent emotions, and he even sympathized with them to a degree.

When he and the other Jedi had been inside the Sith student's mind, he'd been too busy dealing with the terror the girl was feeling to react quickly enough to block out the memories that had risen to the front of her mind. The knowledge of what her Sith Masters had done to her, combined with the fact that Talon had fully expected he and his fellow Jedi to act in the same fashion disgusted him. Luke felt as if he'd had a ship full of filth hurled in his face.

It was sick and twisted acts of that exact nature which were only one of the reasons that the Galactic Alliance was trying to abolish slavery throughout the known galaxy.

With a slow deep breath, the former Grand Master of the Jedi order drew heavily on the training he'd received from both of his mentors. Still, it was a concentrated effort to dispel the rage that threatened to consume his state of mind every time he thought about what Talon had fully expected them to do to her.

"Now, I understand why you stopped me from making a probe at the source of her fears aboard the ship, but you didn't tell me that she'd been literally _raped_ inside her mind! I can't even begin to imagine what her life has been like, but I'm guessing that mind rape was only a small part of it, wasn't it?" Luke asked his sister in an anteroom of the infirmary.

Leia sighed heavily as she struggled to master her emotions.

"No Luke. It wasn't. She's had to endure that several times every day throughout her entire life! You saw her back in those spare quarters; she didn't even know what an apology is, or that wood isn't edible. For light's sake Luke, I had to show her how to use and operate everything in the refresher, and you know as well as I do that Nerf steaks are one of the most common foods available throughout this galaxy, yet she'd never seen them before! You take all of that and then top the cake with an army of tarentateks that would outnumber every Jedi Knight, Master and even student able to grasp a lightsaber and you'll begin to understand that that child's entire life has been something that the most horrifying holodrama can't come close to!" Leia answered angrily.

"This one has always believed that tarentateks are old legendz. Are you now saying that such thingz are real?" Master Sebatyne demanded in surprise.

"Oh yes, and she'll probably have the nightmares to prove it. Honestly, I won't be surprised if she wakes up screaming; I know I would." Leia said with a shudder as she turned to look through the observation window at the subject of their discussion.

"This one knowz that the girl is far too young for such a mighty hunt, how did she survive?" Saba asked curiously.

"Saba, when I first laid eyes on her, she was covered in so much dried blood from those things that I couldn't even tell she was human. I've seen some of the memories of her life and those of her escape from Korriban. A DNA sample that I had mapped, confirmed what she was up against. So all I can say is that her survival had to have been the will of the Force." Leia said solemnly.

Leia sighed heavily as she ran both hands through her hair.

"I knew that I was asking a lot, Luke. But I had no idea that it would be this bad." Leia said sadly.

"That doesn't matter any more. Here of all places, we know that there is no such thing as a coincidence. So you were right about this being the will of the Force." Luke told his sister gently as he laid a hand on her shoulder in support. "Besides, it's too late to back out now. Like it or not, she's now a part of the order, so what ever problems she has to face, she'll be facing those problems with help."

"This one would also like to offer her help with the youngling. All through her life this one has been taught that the young are the brightest hope of the future. No one, especially a youngling deservez to receive that kind of life, and this one would like to help in making it right." Saba offered sincerely.

Luke nodded in agreement with the Barabel Master. "I think we'll all be working with her Saba. At this point she needs to be shown friendship and compassion more than anything else. She's going to have to make a lot of adjustments in the near future in order to get used to us, and our ways, but then we'll also have to make adjustments as well while getting used to her."

Each of the three Jedi went silent as they each tried to think of ways to help the young girl cope with the whole new way of life among the Jedi. Twenty minutes later their thoughts were interrupted when Cilghal entered the waiting room.

"I've finished with her examination and I have the results from her scans. Her condition is actually much worse than I originally thought. According to her cellular development she's thirteen standard years old." Cilghal began.

"Thirteen? I would have sworn she was no more than nine, _maybe_ ten!" Leia interrupted.

"She appears to be much younger than she is because she's suffered from both severe malnutrition and near constant starvation throughout her life thus far. Her bones are currently very brittle from lack of Vitamin D; caused by a prolonged and complete lack of exposure to natural sunlight. I've given her some injections to help with that, but I want her on minimal physical activity for at least a week until her skeletal structure regains some of its proper strength. That means no sparing or saber training of any kind. I have the droids manufacturing some clothing that will let her tolerate standard temperature ranges. I've also ordered one of them to modify a self adjusting ocular filtration unit that will limit the amount of light that reaches her eyes so she won't be blinded by normal lighting. I also gave her some injections to radically boost her metabolism for the next couple of months, so she'll absorb the nutrients her body has been sorely lacking. Because of that, she'll need to eat more often than normal. For right now, I want her to sleep for as long as she will, but she should have someone she knows nearby when she wakes up." The Jedi Master said in her rumbling voice.

"I'll stay with her until she wakes up. I'd prefer her to have a set of quarters across from mine or next to mine, so I can keep an eye on her." Leia said without taking her eyes off the sleeping child.

"This one will see what can be done in that regard. They may have to place you in to the student'z wing in order to set that up, would that be much of a problem?" Saba asked.

"Not for me, Han might a few objections to staying in the student's wing, but I'll deal with that problem when it shows up." Leia said with a frown as she thought of other areas in which the girl's education might be lacking.

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As her mind slowly drifted towards consciousness, she became aware of four things. First was the soft surface that she had slept on; second was that she was alone on that surface; third was that she wasn't hurting quite as much as she usually did; fourth was that she was wearing clothes that had kept her warm enough not to wake up shivering from the cold. It was thinking about this last fact, which brought the memories of recent events flooding back into her mind.

Talon's eyes snapped open in fright. She had seen how slowly other students had been killed for doing what she'd done. She was about to sit up when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Take it easy, no one's going to hurt you, and there's nothing to be afraid of here." Leia told her.

Talon was about to try to ask why she hadn't been executed, when the door to the infirmary opened admitting a pair of students, the much younger and smaller of the two crying loudly as he tried to staunch the bleeding from a badly busted nose.

Cilghal was there quickly. "What happened?"

Talon gaped in shock as the older girl explained that she and her friends had been using the Force to play an improvised version of smack ball, and that after scoring, the ball had bounced off the goal to hit the smaller boy, who had only been watching the game, in the face.

Talon watched in silence as the healer patched the small boy up and sent him on his way with a word of warning to be careful for the next few hours. Talon could see the shame on the face of the older girl who had waited through all of the boy's treatment.

"You and the others who were playing like that can take the place of the shuttle cleaning droids for the next three days by way of punishment. You know the rules; games of that nature are to _always_ be supervised by a Master so that accidents like this don't happen. That boy was fortunate that his nasal plates weren't broken. You could have grievously injured him with your carelessness, but I suspect that after cleaning all of the shuttles in the compound, you and your friends won't allow anything like this to happen again now will you?" Cilghal rumbled disapprovingly.

"No, Master Cilghal. We won't." Talon heard the girl answer before she was dismissed.

Talon couldn't believe what she'd just seen. The young boy had been doing what she'd done before she had fallen asleep, but instead of being killed, he was treated for his injury, while the student responsible was in trouble. Back at the Sith academy, injuries did happen, but it was always considered the fault of the one who was injured for not developing better skills.

In complete bewilderment Talon turned to face Leia.

"Why?" She asked in confusion.

Leia shook her head, not understanding what Talon meant.

"Why what? What do you mean by why?" Leia asked as she tried to make sense of the girl's open question.

"Why wasn't he killed for doing that? Why wasn't I killed for doing it? Why did she get in trouble because he got hurt? If she was in trouble, why wasn't she getting hurt?" Talon asked finally.

Leia had to think about the questions, the incident, and the girl asking the questions before she could even begin to think about how to answer those questions.

"She and the others who were playing will have to clean the shuttles as their punishment, because as Jedi, we don't hurt others unless we have no other choice. She and her friends are being punished for two reasons, because they broke the rules, and because their actions resulted in someone getting hurt. The boy isn't going to be punished and certainly not killed, because he didn't do anything wrong. He was hurt, and he was crying because he was hurt. There isn't anything wrong with that, although some males might tell you otherwise, they would still be wrong. You weren't punished for crying because you were also hurt, not physically, but emotionally; again there is nothing wrong with it. Crying is a way of dealing with pain, either physical, or mental. Sometimes it helps you feel better, sometimes it doesn't, but either way, it's not something to be killed over." Leia explained softly as she wondered exactly what she'd gotten herself into.

Talon shook her head, not really understanding any of it. This was not how things were done at the Sith Academy; punishments were instant, harsh, and excruciating to make sure that a student never repeated their mistake. Those actions or mistakes that were considered signs of true weakness resulted in that student being used as target practice for those students who were trying to develop their skills in Force lightning, choke and other offensive skills.

"Ah good! You're awake." The Mon Calamari Master said interrupting Talon's thoughts.

Cilghal turned to a nearby work station and picked up a fair sized stack of clothing that was sitting there and came over to Talon's bed.

"I've had some clothes made for you that will let you be comfortable in normal environmental settings. There are two refrigeration units incorporated into each belt, and this is a self adjusting filter for you to wear over your eyes so you're not stumbling around blinded by normal lighting." Cilghal told the girl as she displayed the items mentioned.

"But, I already have clothes." Talon said in confusion.

Leia chuckled in amusement, while the Mon Cal snorted.

"Those will do fine in your own quarters, but they won't help you at all if you have to go back outside. . ." Cilghal trailed off as she watched the blood drain from Talon's face as the girl went abnormally pale even for her white complexion at the thought of facing that nightmarish heat again.

"You really should learn to relax, and not be so tense all the time. As I said, these clothes have refrigeration units in them to keep you cool in heat that is _much_ worse than what you felt outside." Cilghal chided gently.

Talon gaped at the Jedi while shaking her head in denial. Surely that _had_ to be impossibility! There was no way that she could possibly endure anything that was hotter than what she'd felt upon exiting the shuttle.

The stark expression of disbelief was easy for anyone to read, and Cilghal had had more than a fair amount of practice in reading human expressions. The Jedi Master chuckled in amusement.

"You don't believe me? Or is it that you don't believe that there could be anything hotter than what you felt outside?" Cilghal asked amusedly.

"Are there really places hotter than that was?" Talon asked Leia not really wanting to believe it.

Leia was unable to suppress a snort of laughter at that question as she nodded her head.

"One day, you should ask Luke about the world he grew up on. Take a look at the thick robes and clothing he wears. As hot as it was to you coming out of the shuttle, it's still cold to him." Leia said still smiling lightly.

"Did... Did he live in a lava cavern?" Talon stammered in astonishment. It was the only thing she could think of that would produce that kind of heat.

Leia struggled to keep her composure after hearing that question. She knew the girl hadn't even been taught the words for kindness or compassion, so any type of humor that she had been exposed to would have been of a very dark nature indeed. Still, she was unable to keep her mirth from her tone as she answered Talon.

"No. He did not live in a lava cavern. He was raised on Tatooine, where he was a moisture farmer. That world has two suns, so it's extremely hot there. Ask him about it one day." Leia told her.

Talon shook her head not knowing what to say about that. Then the two Jedi told her to follow them to a small room so she could get dressed, and learn how to use the thermal control units built into the belts of each set of clothing. The clothing resembled a rather thick flight suit, and was lined with hundreds of meters of tubing which circulated warm or cold air to maintain a desired temperature range. When Talon first put the ocular filter on; she noticed that the lights seemed to dim just enough to be what she thought of as normal. Once she had donned the cloak she had scavenged from the deceased student on Korriban, Talon almost resembled any other student at the academy.

It wasn't until she saw Cilghal reset the environmental controls that she noticed any difference. A blast of heat washed across her face and hands, as the temperature climbed back into the standard settings. Talon took slow shallow breaths until she got used to breathing such hot air. Then she noticed Leia frowning as the Jedi looked at her.

Talon was about to take a step back away from the obviously irritated Jedi, when Leia turned to Cilghal.

"Shouldn't that filter be dark or something?" Leia asked the healer in confusion.

"This is a recent development from the Verpine. If it were a standard filter, then yes it would have to be nearly opaque, but the lens of this particular version is actually composed of nanites with a transparent crystalline structure. Instead of simply blocking out the light, they monitor pupil dilation and redirect or diffuse the light as it passes through so that vision remains unimpaired. It is capable of polarizing if needed, but will only do so when indicated by Talon's pupil dilation." Cilghal rumbled happily. "Besides, you must admit, that for a human, her eyes are quite striking."

"Yes they are." Leia agreed.

"I'll want to re-examine her in a couple of days to check on her ossial structure, and make sure that those injections I gave her are working properly. Her bones are far too brittle for my liking right now." Cilghal warned.

Leia nodded her head and then turned to Talon.

"If you'll come with me, I'll show you to your quarters. They're not quite as nice as those on board the Alderaan, but they're still comfortable." Leia said.

Talon nodded her head and followed the Jedi. As they walked past the bed where Talon had been treated; Talon switched her clothing so that she was holding it in her right arm, and summoned her staves to her left hand with the Force. Leia was quick to note that as massively heavy as the two weapons were, Talon was able to avoid damaging any thing nearby without really paying any attention to doing so.

As a Jedi Knight, trained in combat and possessed of more than adequate saber skills herself, Leia knew that such awareness of weapon length and position could only come from countless hours of use, and an intimate familiarity with the weapons in question. Even with everything she had learned about the girl's weapon skills, Leia's estimation of those skills was raised another notch.

As the Jedi led Talon through the Jedi complex, Leia pointed out the cafeteria, recreation rooms, lounge, meditation hall, library, various training rooms, and study halls.

Talon looked around her at everything the Jedi was pointing out to her. She was quick to notice that there were no feelings of anger or hatred constantly pressing in on her as there had been on Korriban. Instead there was a sensation of something that she couldn't define. She was quickly learning that there were feelings that she'd never experienced before; feelings that had nothing to do with pain, fear, anger, or hate, and she hungered to know more about them.

One of the things that really struck Talon, once she was able to recognize it, was that as strongly as she felt the pull of the Force swirling through this complex, she sensed no one in pain, and she felt no misery here, which she thought to be very strange since a lot of those people that she and Leia passed were smiling; an expression that Talon associated with the misery or torment of someone else.

Talon continued to follow the Jedi through the various halls which were filled with windows to let in natural lighting. With her optical filter firmly in place, she wasn't bothered by the light levels, but she was amazed by the sheer amount of open spaces that she could see through those windows.

When they got to the set of small rooms that had been assigned to Talon, Leia opened the door and stepped aside to let the girl enter first.

"Go ahead. These are your quarters. I know they're not much compared to what's on board the Alderaan, but I don't think that's going to matter once you get used to them." Leia told her.

As Talon walked into the set of quarters which had been assigned to her, she saw that they were spacious enough for two beds, but held only one. She laid her specially built training weapons on the floor next to the bed and then put her clothes down on top of it. A light grey carpet covered every square centimeter of the floor. The bedding was a slightly darker tone of grey. Talon was walking over to the window when she heard Leia speak up from the doorway.

"Can I come in?" Leia asked softly.

Talon turned around to see Leia still waiting outside the room, and gaped at the Jedi, not knowing what was expected of her.

Leia knew that Talon had never been allowed any type of privacy, not physical, or spiritual, and certainly not mental, so she had deliberately asked to enter in order to show Talon that these rooms were her private space and that others would need her permission before coming in.

"Well... may I come in or not?" Leia asked while carefully keeping a kind tone in her voice.

Talon looked stricken as she nodded her head not knowing what else to do, but the Jedi Knight smiled as she entered. As the Jedi entered the room she noticed that the girl's attention was once again drawn towards the window.

"There's so many." Talon said in an almost awed whisper as Leia stepped to the window beside her. "In every one of those things. I can sense them, feel them, hear them; all at once. I can't believe that there's that many people here. How do you make sense of it all? Their thoughts are all jumbled together."

Those few whispered comments confirmed one of the Jedi's fears about the girl. Without the mental defenses that were normally a significant part of Force training, Talon had no way of blocking anything or anyone out of her mind.

"I don't know what to tell you about that, Talon, except that I can't hear someone else's thoughts unless I really try, and even then it's not very easy." Leia answered.

Talon's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to make sense of all the minds she heard, and felt. She gave up after being unable to single out any one of them.

"There are many differences between what you were taught on Korriban, and what the real galaxy is like Talon. All those people that you sense out there; many of them only want the same things you do. A safe place where they won't have to be afraid; to be able to live without being in fear for their lives, and believe it or not; that's exactly what many of them have. Oh, some them will have fears of a different kind, but not fear for their lives, or fear of being hurt. Here on Corruscant, most fears revolve around either economics or politics, and both are something that you'll learn about while you're here." Leia told her.

As Talon nodded her head, Leia could feel the apprehension welling up within the girl's mind. Back on Korriban, the only lessons that Talon had ever come close to enjoying were the saber training sessions as grueling and torturously exhausting as they were. All the other lessons had been filled with various levels of pain and torment.

"When will I start?" Talon asked quietly in a small voice.

Leia smiled and slowly placed a hand gently on the girl's shoulder. "You already have. With some lessons, it's enough to give you the information as many times as it takes for you to remember it. With others, it will be necessary for you to practice until you get it right. We won't punish you for failing, but we will offer help and encourage you to keep trying until you succeed."

Talon didn't have the slightest clue what to say or even what was to be expected of her at this point. On Korriban, among the Sith, she had always known how to gage the moods and attitudes of her Masters in order to avoid being punished or tormented. Not that it was always possible, because the Sith Masters had enjoyed tormenting both her and the other students. Her confusion was evident in her gold colored eyes as she lowered her head and turned back to the window.

Leia watched the girl in consternation. She knew that Talon was going to have some trouble believing the differences in the way things were done here versus the methods that she'd had to endure on Korriban. Leia also knew that some of the adjustments that the girl would have to make might prove difficult for her, but then that was part of life and learning. At least here, she would eventually learn that she didn't have to be terrified of every one she met.

Leia flexed the fingers of her right hand, giving Talon's shoulder a slight squeeze to gain her attention.

"One of the best ways for you to learn how we do things here would be to see it for yourself. Come on. I'll take you to the lounge where you can see most of the activities and lessons that we Jedi participate in." Leia instructed with a light smile.

Talon nodded her head in acceptance and reached out her hands to summon her staves as she followed the Jedi out of the room.

The Jedi Knight felt the disturbance caused by the girl's use of the Force, and turned around.

"Actually, it might be best if you were to leave those here Talon. No one will bother them, because this is your room, and they'd need your permission to enter. Besides, you are under strict orders not to indulge in anything strenuous for a full week. And before you ask, yes, that includes practicing with those staves of yours, or even with lightsabers." Leia chided gently.

Even with everything she knew about the girl, Leia couldn't help but be moved by the fact that Talon was more than a little hesitant to leave the weapons behind. She knew that as far as Talon was concerned, just a few short hours ago, her life had depended on those heavy rods of compressed Beskar.

"I get punished whenever I'm caught without them." Talon whispered apprehensively.

Leia heard the girl's response and frowned as a nasty thought hit her.

"They made you carry those everywhere? Constantly? How long have you been doing that?" The Jedi asked in a suspicious tone.

"Ever since I started my saber training. First it was one made to mimic a single hilt, then two of them, and then later they made me start using these, but the Masters made sure that all of them had the same weight." Talon answered softly.

"They made you carry those all day? Everyday?" Leia demanded in stark disbelief.

When Talon nodded her affirmation, Leia could only gape at the girl in disbelief.

'_No wonder her telekinetic skills are so strong!' _Leia thought suddenly.

She knew that maintaining a telekinetic hold on any particular object required a certain level of intense concentration, at least until the person doing so developed enough familiarity with the techniques involved to reduce the amount of concentration required. It was very similar in that regard to learning to wield a lightsaber, although one could eventually learn to use a lightsaber without thinking about it, as far as she knew, no one had ever thought that it would be possible to master one's telekinetic skills to the degree that it became an unconscious action.

It took Leia just a few seconds to realize that Talon would be uneasy without her two training weapons, but she knew that the presence of such unusual weapons might cause a few problems by being the subject of potentially awkward questions which were best avoided for the time being.

With obvious reluctance, Talon left her staves on the floor next to her bed. For the first time in several years, she would be without their constant presence. For her, clothing had always been something she wanted to earn to keep out the cold, and even though she was now wearing more clothes than she'd ever owned in her life, without her two training weapons she truly felt naked.

Leia could feel Talon's apprehension, nervousness, and fear through the Force, and even though she knew that Talon didn't want to, the girl followed Leia with a stoic purpose that belied the emotions that gripped her. Leia knew that it wasn't bravery that caused Talon to follow her instructions to leave the weapons behind, but rather fear of being punished.

Leia guided Talon to the communal lounge where she took a seat at an empty table in a corner next to one of the windows. The room was set up similar to a large version of a tap caf, in that there were tables with chairs, recliners, and sofas of various sizes to allow and encourage social interaction; there were even large vid screens spaced about to allow patrons to stay up with the latest news and current events.

Leia placed an order for two cups of caf with the server droid, and waited while it was brought over. She noticed that Talon was near a seat that would enable her to see both what was going on inside the lounge as well as be able to look out the window. As she went over, Leia motioned for the girl to sit down, and took a chair herself.

"Normally Talon, this is one of the places where some of the students and instructors come when they're not in classes so that they can have a cup of caf, relax and even catch up on the news, so they can find out what all is going on in the galaxy. The droids are able to prepare a few light foods, such as sandwiches and pastries if you find yourself hungry, and it's a great place to meet new friends." Leia told her as she sipped at her caf.

Talon stared at the steaming caf in her cup. The dark beverage had a strong flavor that was very different from anything she had ever been given before, but wasn't something that she could gulp down because of the heat. She sat there staring at her cup as she tried to figure out what was expected of her.

While it might have appeared that Talon hadn't paid much attention to the Jedi's words, this couldn't have been farther from the truth. Talon was very aware of them. Just as she was aware of the four younger students over near the center of the room laughing and talking as they practiced their burgeoning telekinetic skills. She was aware of the three female students in the far corner discussing the various traits of some males that they knew, and she was aware of the never ending stream of air speeders that passed by outside in the distance.

Throughout her life, her safety and sometimes even her life had depended on her ability to observe what was going on around her, to notice when one of the Sith Masters was irritated over something or when one of the older and better trained students wanted to take their frustrations out on a younger student. Talon noticed all of these things, in fact, she couldn't _not _notice them.

Leia studied the Sith child intently as she sampled the caf, and sat there with her gold colored eyes flickering about in various directions as she paid attention to everything that was going on around her.

"What's a friend?" Talon asked quietly.

Leia's jaw fell open in surprise. She might have expected any one of a number of questions from the girl, but she'd had no clue about that one!

"What's a. . . You mean you don't…" Leia stammered in shock as she tried to wrap her mind around that fact that Talon really didn't know what a friend was.

'_How in the blazes do I explain what a friend is to someone that's never even heard the term?'_ Leia pondered franticly as she struggled to come up with an answer.

It wasn't until that instant that the Jedi realized just how bleak and lonely Talon's life had truly been.

'_Trust? She won't have heard of that either!'_ Leia realized suddenly.

The Jedi sighed heavily as she took another sip of her caf.

"Talon, I'm not really sure just how to explain what a friend is to you, because you don't seem to know many of the words that are necessary to define just what a friend really is. It's not something that can be easily explained, but believe me, a friend is something that is well worth having." Leia said after a minute of careful thought.

Talon nodded her head as she accepted the information, even though she wasn't sure what to do with it. Leia sipped at her caf and watched as Talon kept glancing around the room. Leia saw that she wasn't focusing on any one thing, but instead was taking in everything that was going on around her. Various emotions were still pouring off of her in thick waves, ranging from nervousness and apprehension up through fear.

Leia was about to order a few sandwiches when her wristpad beeped signaling an incoming message.

Leia quickly read the message and turned to Talon.

"I need to go file a report on the shakedown of the Alderaan. I want you to wait here for me until I return; I shouldn't be gone more than an hour or two, okay? If you get hungry, one of the droids can bring you some sandwiches and more caf." Leia told her as she got up.

Talon nodded her head, and after the Jedi left, she closed her eyes and yielded to the near constant pull that she always felt, and allowed her mind to drift in the Force. Instead of pulling the Force to her, she reached outwards to it and began to let her consciousness float in the Force. It was something that she had stumbled on just about five years ago during one of the times when she was being punished, and had often done this back on Korriban during the brief rest periods between lessons. She simply opened herself to the Force and let her mind drift in its vast swirling currents. For her it was a way of leaving behind the constant state of fear and pain that she lived in, and was the only pastime that she had.

Unlike a meditation trance, where one was able to will their mind in specific directions within the Force to acquire certain knowledge or visions; Talon was simply letting the Force take her mind to wherever she ended up. She used this as a means not only of escape from her body and the hardships she had lived through, but also as a way of relaxing her mind and gathering a small measure of strength from the Force. She had no way of knowing that the countless myriad places she saw, and numerous lives she felt were actually real. She just knew that letting herself drift within the Force was better than seeing with her own eyes what had often taken place around her.

She found her consciousness flying across the surface of a seemingly endless sea of sand. Dunes far too numerous to count were being driven by winds that she didn't feel but knew were there. She didn't need to feel the heat, to know that that too was also present since the sky on the horizon seemed to be burned to near white from it. She had never experienced anything like this in her physical body, except when she had ridden down from the Alderaan in the shuttle with Leia.

Talon didn't care if what she was seeing through the Force was real or not, she was simply experiencing the surreal beauty of what she did see in the Force. Then, as it had on many previous occasions, a voice spoke to her within the Force. She knew that the voice belonged to a female, but had no idea who it was, nor had she ever thought to ask. As the voice often did, it told her a little information about what she was seeing, and would sometimes ask her if she liked what she saw.

Talon had never talked about what she did during these trances, nor had she ever mentioned the voice or presence that she felt during them; instead she simply accepted it as part and parcel of the Force. Had she been asked, she would have said it was the voice of the Force itself. She couldn't know that what seemed normal to her was actually completely out of the ordinary. Both the strange trancelike state and the presence were normal to her, so she accepted it as just there.

From seas of endless sand, to seas of endless waves of water, and then to a vast expanse of ice that had no apparent end, Talon drifted through the Force visiting several worlds in seconds or minutes. She never knew exactly how long each visit would last, but then she didn't care either. In this state, neither time nor anything else to do with reality had any meaning for her.

Moving through the raw fury of a star's surface, Talon saw for herself the massive eruptions of super heated plasma jetting outward into the vast expanse of space. The near indescribable beauty of various planets as seen from space, and even sometimes other galaxies. All of these things came to her as she flowed through the Force.

It all came to a halt when she felt someone approaching her physical body. She had learned early on not to let herself become so involved in the trance that she forgot herself, because the last time she had done so, punishment had been painful indeed; Sith Masters did _not_ like to give an order twice!

"Since it seems that you're done meditating now, perhaps you can join the rest of us in saber training class." An older man said casually as he walked towards her. He was dressed in tan clothing, with brown eyes and dark hair that was really curly, and a beard that seemed just as curly as his hair.

"I don't recognize you, so you must be new here. I'm Kyle Katarn one of the Jedi Masters here at this academy, but you can just call me Kyle. I'm one of the more informal instructors around the order, so I don't tend to get hung up on being called Master all the time, and you are?" Kyle said with a smile as he introduced himself.

Talon swallowed hard as she realized that he was talking to her. She knew that Leia had told her that she was not to engage in saber practice of any kind, but there was no way she was going to get punished for telling a Master no. It was a choice of getting punished now by this Master, or get punished later by Leia. Talon knew that she was going to get it either way, and there was no way out of it as far as she could tell, so she swallowed again and answered the man's question.

"Talon." She told him quietly not meeting his eyes.

"Okay Talon, if you'll join me and the other students, I'd really appreciate it." Kyle told her.

Talon quickly gulped down what was left in her cup, before setting it down on the table and followed the Jedi to one of the various training rooms. She watched in silence as Kyle paired older and more experienced students off with younger students who were still learning the principals of lightsaber combat.

It took the Jedi Master a few minutes to get everyone set up, and Talon watched with interest as some of the students began light sparring sessions. The older student would launch a strike and then allow the younger student to try to duplicate it. By allowing older students to help train the younger ones, it let each of his more experienced students to learn how to teach, but also gave them a better understanding of their own skills as well. Talon was quick to note that this method also had the advantage of leaving Kyle free to elaborate on what any one student needed to know more about.

When Kyle had things set up to his satisfaction, he walked back over to the order's newest addition.

"Okay Talon, have they issued you a practice saber yet?" Kyle asked her.

Even though it had been years since she had used one, Talon knew very well what a practice saber was. Unlike the ones she had brought with her from Korriban, a practice saber had an intensified electromagnetic containment field, and standard energy plasma contained in that same field. The handling characteristics were the same, but a practice saber wouldn't kill or amputate a limb if the strike wasn't blocked in time.

Talon shook her head nervously as she wondered just how bad her punishment from Leia was going to be.

Kyle motioned to her to follow him as he led her over to a rack holding a dozen or so identical single blade lightsaber hilts. Above each hilt was a spot of color in the shape of a blade. Talon was quick to note that red was not among the colors shown.

"These are training sabers, go ahead, and pick one that you think suits you, the color spot above each hilt shows what color of blade that saber has." Kyle told her.

Talon would have been quick to choose two of them since she had been trained so that she was completely at ease while wielding a weapon in each hand, except that he'd specifically said one. Talon reached out and selected a hilt that while it looked nothing like the one Leia carried; it did have the same color of blade.

Before Kyle could say anything more, Talon thumbed the blade into existence and made a couple of quick quarter slash parries as if she were deflecting a pair of rapid thrusts to her face. Satisfied that the balance of the weapon would be something that she could easily use, Talon deactivated the weapon and turned to face Kyle.

Kyle watched with interest as Talon chose her practice saber. Most students usually asked if there were some meaning attached to the color of the blade, or any of a hundred other similar questions. This student did none of those things. When he saw her make the two quick parries and nod to her self in approval. His eyebrows had shot up in surprise. The moves had been both quick and precise, showing that the girl knew at least _something_ about bladed combat.

"Handled something like that before have you?" Kyle asked her with a grin.

Talon only nodded her head not wanting to say anything, since she knew she was going to get in trouble; she certainly didn't want to make it any worse by possibly saying the wrong thing.

"Okay, in that case, why don't we go over to that sparring circle and you can show me what you already know." Kyle told her as he indicated a spot by the wall near the door.

As Talon headed to the designated sparring area, the Jedi Master studied her intently. The girl appeared to be about nine or possibly ten years old, and given the things he'd already seen her do, he knew she'd received at least some training from someone else. He could easily sense the apprehension and fear from the girl, and guessed that she might have been transferred from one of the other training academies because of some type of trouble.

When they arrived at the marked off area, Kyle squared himself off and faced her, then he pulled out his own lightsaber and ignited it with the blue blade humming loudly.

"Okay Talon, now I want you to attack me." Kyle ordered her.

Talon swallowed hard; so far she had seen nothing to give her a clue as to how well developed his saber skills were. She knew that she'd had to hold back during her training sessions for a long time now, because the Masters hated to be out classed by a mere student, and had tormented her on several occasions for nearly beating them during her training.

"What form?" She asked quietly.

The question surprised the Jedi Master, although he tried not to show it.

"Whichever form you're comfortable with." He responded.

Talon spread her feet into a starting stance with her weapon held in two hands at shoulder level slightly to her right with the blade angled just above her head to her left.

The Jedi Master barely had time to register the fact that this slip of a girl had taken up a classic Ataru stance and apparently planned to use that form against him before she had launched her attack.

The Jedi Master's eyes went wide in shock as Talon's first lightning fast strike hammered into his blade. She had taken her blade up and around to bring it in a three quarter circle to slam into his weapon in the form of a cross body slash that started at waist level and continued up towards his head. He knew instantly that the high speed aggressive style of Ataru was well suited to the girl, just as he also knew that he was way outmatched! The sheer power contained in that first strike was like nothing he'd ever seen anyone deliver. In less time than it took his heart to skip a beat, Kyle had somehow deflected no less than four separate strikes with his lightsaber.

The rapid series of slashes had started low and were quickly working their way higher. So quick were the girl's moves and so fast were the strikes that Kyle forgot that this was a mere sparring session and that she was only using a training saber. Certain that he would be killed if he didn't act fast, Kyle Force pushed the girl away from him.

Talon knew the instant that her blade had made contact with his for the third time in less than half a second that she'd made a serious mistake. She'd thought that since he was teaching this class that the Jedi would be at least as skilled as her now dead Sith Master. With the grim realization that he wasn't, she decided to finish the combination set and step back. She never got the chance.

The telekinetic shove slammed her into the wall behind her. She hit the wall with a painful crack and slumped to the floor. Certain that she had humiliated and angered the Jedi; Talon huddled there fearfully, waiting for the painful punishment that she knew was coming.

Jedi Master Kyle Katarn stared at the girl cowering on the floor in front of him. He really wasn't quite sure what had just happened, but now that it was over and he had time to think, he knew that he'd over reacted. They had training sabers for a reason, and that was to prevent injury to both student and instructor alike while training. He'd seen her hit the wall, and from the way she sat there on the floor curled into a very tight ball, she obviously expected him to do something else to her.

Kyle deactivated his lightsaber, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Sorry about that. You really surprised me. I didn't expect anything like that to come from someone so young. Here, stand up so I can talk to you." He told her with a rueful smile.

Talon's left leg, left shoulder, and left hip had started to throb painfully when the Jedi finally spoke to her. As she started to climb to her feet, she felt a sudden tearing sensation in her left leg and she gasped when pure liquid agony shot through her body with the speed and power of Force lightning.

Kyle's jaw dropped in mute horror as a large unnatural bulge appeared in the girl's lower left leg followed by a rapidly spreading red stain across her pants leg. Even though she had collapsed on her first attempt to rise, the obviously serious injury didn't stop her from trying again, and he could only stare in dumbfounded shock as he watched the girl struggle to get to her feet.

Talon knew that she was hurt. She'd been in worse pain than this many times, but never had so much pain been felt in only one part of her body. She didn't know why her leg hadn't held her up, but she did know that she had been given an order that she was expected to carry out, so she gritted her teeth and tried again.

Every student in the room stopped their training when a solid wave of agonizing torment tore through the Force. Some of the more sensitive students were nearly overwhelmed by it and fell to their knees, even as Talon gasped in shock from the pain as she once again tried to put her weight on a leg that couldn't support her.

Kyle was struck dumb by the horror of what he'd done. A student; a _child_ had been seriously injured because of a mistake in judgment! That in itself was bad enough, but to see that same child continue to repeatedly try to stand on a leg that obviously had a compound fracture, simply shorted out his ability to think.

One by one, the students slowly began to recover from the onslaught of pain that was still radiating through the Force, and began to mill around; staring and whispering among themselves.

No matter how hard she tried, or how strongly she tried to push past the pain, Talon could not get her leg to support her weight. She knew the Jedi was still standing there; waiting for her to obey the command that he'd given her. Terrified that she would be punished for disobedience, Talon took a deep breath and was about to try again when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at the reptilian features of Saba Sebatyne.

"Stop trying to get up little one! You've been injured, and Cilghal is on her way, so just stay there." Saba told her.

"But, I... I have to. He told me to get up." She answered in a pain filled whisper.

It was her words, filled with pain and fear that snapped Kyle back to himself with a shake of his head.

"That was before I knew you were hurt. So just listen to what Master Sebatyne says. The rest of you might want to wait in the lounge, where someone will explain later." Kyle said as he dismissed the rest of the students to make room for the healers to work when they arrived.

Kyle had no clue as to exactly _how_ this would be explained, but he would have to tell them something to keep their imaginations from running wild.

Talon stopped trying to get to her feet and closed her eyes. The pain from her leg was getting worse, and she could feel the entire limb throb in agony with every beat of her heart.

The students filed out of the room slowly, each of them looking over at the injured newcomer. None of them had seen what had actually happened, but that didn't stop the whispered speculation from starting.

One of the older students, nearly ready to be apprenticed, came over with the emergency medical kit. The boy dropped to his knees and quickly opened the kit and grabbed the canister of numbspray. Setting this to the side, he reached into his robes, pulled out a small vibro knife, and before the injured girl could react to the weapon, quickly and expertly slit her pants leg from the top of her boots up to the knee. Dropping the knife, he carefully pulled the cloth aside before he grabbed the canister of numbspray and applied it liberally.

As the pain began to subside, Talon opened her eyes to see a black haired boy with a swarthy complexion spraying her injured leg with something. Then she looked down at her leg to see how badly she was hurt and froze in horror.

"_It's a waste of time and resources to try healing injuries that serious; kill him."_

Talon clearly remembered those words that had been so callously and coldly uttered, when a student had received a severely broken arm during a particularly intense round of training. She knew that minor injuries would receive bacta patches, or on very rare occasions even injections, but an injury this serious would take too long to heal, leaving the student unable to train, and was therefore a waste of time, effort, and resources.

Terrified, and knowing that she was going to be killed, Talon swallowed hard as she closed her eyes and waited to hear the order given.

Saba was still hunkered down next to Talon when she sensed a new wave of fear roll across her through the force. She gave the girl's shoulder a comforting squeeze. She didn't know why the youngling was afraid, but then with what she did know about her, the Barabel was certain that it would prove to be a legitimate concern for the girl, but otherwise a nearly groundless fear.

Talon felt a lot of pressure being applied to her leg just above her knee, and she opened her eyes to see the boy using a strip that he'd torn from his robe along with the hilt of his lightsaber to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

"Just keep on hanging tough. Soon as the healers get here, they'll get you fixed up and ready to get back in training in no time." The boy told her with a grin.

"That's some good work, Selar. I'm glad to see that someone's kept a clear head through this mess! You just might turn out to be a decent Jedi yet, _if_ you can ever learn not to carry vibro blades around." Kyle told the boy.

"Not a chance, Kyle! Once a street runner, always a street runner. Besides, that blade sure came in handy just now; and I'd hate to try slicing someone's clothes with a saber." Selar shot back with a slight snicker.

Kyle was about to say something back when he was cut short by the entry of Master Cilghal and a pair of medical droids.

"I don't think this is the proper time for jokes, especially when the injury is as potentially crippling as that one is." Cilghal rumbled ominously after taking one quick glance at Talon's leg.

"Sorry Master Cilghal, but she's so scared that I thought I'd try to take her mind off of this." Selar apologized sincerely.

"With any other patient, that might help, and it was a good try, but next time you should try getting to know the patient better, before resorting to humor. Come by the infirmary tomorrow, and I'll give you a few pointers on proper first aid since you seem to be a fair hand at it. I might be able to put your talents to use." The Mon Cal Jedi instructed lightly to let the boy know that he'd actually done a good job.

Selar flashed a brilliant smile as he grabbed his vibro blade and left the training room.

Cilghal knelt down next to Talon on her left side, which was the spot that had just been vacated by Selar and unslung her medical case. Opening the case, she got out a small medical sensor which had a built in ground penetrating sonar which was excellent for use in resetting broken bones. As she moved towards Talon to set the sensor up, Talon tried to press her self further back into the wall, and all three Jedi felt the wave of fear escalate into terror.

"I'll… I'll go away. I'll do anything… Anything you want. Just let me leave… I'll go away and I won't ever come back… I'll do whatever you want, just don't... Don't kill me… I don't… I don't want to die." Talon begged the healer desperately.

Both of the Jedi kneeling next to the girl froze, while at the same time, Kyle felt the blood drain from his face as he heard the terror and sheer desperation in the girl's pleading. Before any of them could react to what had been said, they were cut off.

"Leia, will you please try to calm her down before she sends half the population of Corruscant into a panic?" Luke asked as he followed his sister into the training room.

Leia eased past Kyle and knelt down between Saba and Cilghal. She didn't say anything as she took the sensor from the healer and aimed it at her arm. Flipping the activation stud, Leia angled the sensor so that Talon could see the small screen.

"It's just a sensor Talon. It can't hurt you. All it's for is to let Cilghal see what's happening inside your leg so she can fix it." Leia told her.

"Why in the blazes would she think that we were going to kill her?" Kyle demanded after he recovered from the pure shock of the situation.

Leia turned to gape at the shocked Jedi Master before turning her attention back to Talon.

"You've seen that happen to someone else, haven't you?" Leia asked Talon softly.

Talon nodded her head in answer, and was about to try to plead for her life again, when Leia put the sensor down, and took both of her hands and held them.

Leia closed her eyes for a split second as she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts and composure. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight into Talon's gold colored ones.

"We don't do that here Talon. An injury is not something to be killed for. Do you think we would kill you if you had lost one of your hands?" Leia asked her after getting an idea.

Not knowing anything about her, Kyle was thoroughly surprised when Talon nodded her head. He got another shock when he realized that he was the only one there who was surprised by that answer.

"Well, I'm living proof that Jedi don't do things like that." Luke said as he started pulling the glove off of his right hand. It didn't take him long to figure out where his sister was going with this, and he knew that the longer it took to gain the girl's cooperation, the more likely it was that infection might set in.

Luke pulled his sleeve back and held out his right hand where Talon could see it easily. Then he used a pair of pressure points on each side of his wrist to open a maintenance panel in the wrist just above his palm.

"I was only a few years older than you are now, when I lost my hand after getting hit by a lightsaber. It was my first time against a real opponent, and I wasn't as ready as I thought I was. They couldn't put my hand back on, so they built me one. It works pretty good doesn't it?" Luke asked her in a rueful but joking tone in an attempt to get his point across while wiggling the fingers of the mechanical hand.

Talon gaped at Luke in shock. Her gaze kept leaping back and forth between the Jedi's face and his mechanical hand. Finally she pulled her left hand free from Leia's grip and reached out to pull the strange appendage closer for a better look.

Luke smiled in genuine amusement as Talon examined the open panel and his fingers. He watched in silence as Talon looked for some kind of scar or seam to see where the hand was attached to his arm. When the girl went to make a curious poke at the center of the palm, Luke flexed his fingers and caught her hand. He couldn't help but chuckle when Talon jumped. Letting go of the girl's hand, Luke reached out and closed the panel, before putting his glove back on.

"So you see Talon, if Cilghal can't fix your leg, then she'll get the medical droids to build a new one for you." Leia told the terrified girl as her brother once again concealed his prosthetic.

Talon tried to swallow the lump of fear that had knotted in her throat, and looked into Leia's eyes pleadingly.

"So, I... I'm not a waste of time and resources?" She asked in a disbelieving whisper.

Of the four Jedi Masters and one Jedi Knight present, only one of them wasn't too stunned to speak, and that one, was not just surprised, but also enraged by the implications of the girl's words.

Saba bared her sharp teeth and sissed angrily, and even as Talon flinched away from her rage, the Barabel spoke.

"This one wants you to listen very carefully. There are only Jedi here, and Jedi help and protect each other. Jedi also protect those that can not protect themselvez. _That_ is never a waste of _anything_! By staying here with us, you are choosing to be trained az a Jedi; to _become_ a Jedi. That meanz we will protect you, even if we die while doing so. You are here, az a Jedi, which meanz that you are no longer alone in this universe, Little One." Saba finished gently though she had started out with anger in her tone.

Talon stared at the reptilian Jedi in stark disbelief. She could feel the Jedi's anger, but at the same time she could also sense that the Jedi truly meant every last word of what she had said.

"What Master Sebatyne says is true Talon, and while I wouldn't have put it quite that way, it doesn't make what she said any less true. I want to help you right now, by mending your leg, but I can't help you unless you let me." Cilghal told the girl.

Talon looked over at the Mon Cal Jedi trying to read her intentions. This proved to be nearly impossible for her because these Jedi didn't use or even seem to have the same emotions that her Sith Masters had. It was all so confusing. How was she supposed to know what they wanted from her, when she couldn't tell what their feelings were?

"What do you want me to do?" She asked nervously.

"First, I want you to relax while I do something to deal with the rest of that pain you're in." Cilghal instructed as she prepared an anesthetic injection. "Then, I'm going to have to do something that will most likely hurt more than anything you've ever felt in your life. Most beings prefer to be asleep when these kinds of things are done, so they don't have to feel that pain. Do you want to go to sleep so you don't feel it?"

"Why will it hurt so much?" Talon whispered.

"Because I'll have to pull on your leg, and the broken bones will scrape together when I do, but I can't fix your leg with the bones sticking out like that. I'll be using the sensor unit to know when they are properly positioned and then the Force to speed up the healing." Cilghal answered.

Seeing the expression on the girl's face, Cilghal knew that there was no way that Talon would accept a general anesthetic. She also knew from what had been said that Talon had no real reason to believe that she would ever wake up again. She realized that after what the girl had been through, Talon had valid reasons not to trust anyone, and so far, no one had done anything to earn any trust from her. With this in mind, Cilghal made some quick decisions.

"Saba, I'll need you to come around to this side and hold her leg still. This is really going to hurt and she won't be able to stop herself from trying to pull away, and if that happens, it will likely cause more damage. You'll need to hold her firmly but carefully; we don't need to add to her injuries. Leia, I want you to try to keep her calm and as still as possible. I want to get this leg set before we try to move her to the infirmary." Cilghal instructed.

It only took a few seconds for the two Jedi to get into their positions. Talon watched apprehensively as the Barabel got a firm grip on her injured leg. Saba was careful not to use her claws which were sharp enough to rend flesh easily. Leia also watched until she saw that the healer was ready.

"Talon, I need you to look at me for a second so I can tell you something." Leia instructed to distract the girl.

As soon as Talon looked away from what she was doing, Cilghal pulled hard but slowly and steadily. Talon's eyes flew wide as the shock of the pain registered, and her mouth dropped open while she gasped in pain.

"Go ahead and cry or scream if you need to Talon, I know it hurts." Leia told her as calmly as she could manage.

Talon had tensed when the shockingly intense pain hit her, and she did want to scream, but there was one thing she knew she could do to get away from it. In desperation, she used the method that she had stumbled on during the second time she was punished for leaving her training weapons behind; she let the Force take her mind as she fled her body and the incredible pain it held.

Luke was observing the girl's treatment interestedly. He'd received some training in field medicine during his time in the rebellion, but this was the first time he'd ever seen an injury like this in someone so young. He'd been sure that the girl would cry or scream if she didn't pass out entirely when the necessary treatment was performed. He saw the girl tense and knew that she did want to scream, but then he got a shock of a different nature when he could have sworn that he felt her rejoin the Force.

All of the Jedi froze when Talon let herself start to drift within the Force. To each one of them it felt exactly as if she'd just died. Only the slow but steady rise and fall of the girl's chest gave away the fact that Talon was still alive; otherwise there was no reaction from her.

"Kriffing stang! Did she just . . ." Kyle started to ask until he saw that she was still breathing.

Instead of trying to answer that half question, Luke reached out with the Force and tried to detect the girl's presence. He was relieved to sense a small link that still connected the girl's mind to her physical body, but her consciousness had flown elsewhere in the vast energy of the Force.

"Finish what you need to do Cilghal. She left at least some type of connection to her body, so I think she'll come out of it when you get done; at least I _hope_ that she will." Luke informed the healer.

"Where did she learn to do _that_? I don't even want to think about how it felt when she did . . . _whatever _that is!" Kyle muttered more to himself than anyone else.

"I'm not sure where she could have learned to do that. It's not a technique that I've ever heard of, but I suspect that it's something she might have developed as a defensive mechanism to intense pain." Luke answered.

"Actually, this isn't the first time she's done this. She used this or a similar method during her escape from Korriban. Somehow she's able to give herself completely to the Force and let it take total control. From experiencing it through her memories, I know that it was an act of almost pure desperation." Leia spoke up.

"Hmmm. If that really is the case, then someone will have to look into this at a later time. Losing oneself in the Force like that can be dangerous, and could possibly cause her to fully rejoin the Force. Someone should summon the council members together for a meeting. You may need to be there as well Leia. You're the only one here that really knows much about her, and given what little we do know; it's obvious that she can't be turned over to someone who's not familiar with her past." Luke said thoughtfully.

"I can't argue with that. If I'd known how good she is with a saber, none of this would have happened." Kyle replied.

"Speaking of which; can you explain how this did happen? I gave strict instructions that she wasn't to engage in any strenuous activities for a week, until her bones regain their proper strength." Cilghal wanted to know as she finished setting the broken bones.

"I told her that. Last I know; she was still sitting in the lounge with a cup of caf." Leia said.

"I didn't have anything to do, so I rounded up the students that were in the rec room and the lounge to give them some saber training. She was still there with the caf. I thought that she was meditating, but now that I think about it, she might have been doing the same thing she's doing now. Anyway, I after I got the others squared away; I asked her if she'd been issued a training saber yet. She said no, and I let her pick one out. She gave it a couple of quick moves to test the balance, and I kind of jokingly asked her if she'd handled something like that before. She said yes and. No; wait. That's not right, she never really did say much of anything; she would just nod her head or something unless she had to speak to answer me. Anyway, I brought her over here, and told her to attack me. Then she surprised me by asking what form I wanted her to use. I basically told her to take her pick, and she did. She dropped into a classic Ataru stance and came at me with a really nasty high speed combo that scared me right out of my wits. That and the fact that there was more power behind her attacks than even Lobacca can deliver. Cilghal, I swear to you, I would never have Force pushed her into that wall otherwise, but I completely forgot that we were using training sabers, and that it was only supposed to be a training session. I might have expected something like that from Luke. If he were in a _really_ bad mood maybe. But there was no way that I would have suspected that someone her age would have saber skills like that." Kyle explained as thoroughly as he could.

Leia sighed heavily as she thought about what she could have done to prevent this from happening.

"It's not your fault Kyle. As far as she was concerned, it probably would have been a case of getting punished by you then, or me later. Sith instructors weren't too keen on disobedience, and given that she was raised to be terrified of Jedi to begin with, and well; you get the picture." Leia responded.

"Yeah, I do. All too clearly, and it's not a very pretty one. But just to try to put this in perspective, can someone fill me in on just how good her saber skills really are?" Kyle asked ruefully.

"I can't speak for any one else, but I plan on taking at least a _few_ lessons from her." Luke said with a slight grin.

"Oh great! Now I don't know whether to feel guilty or relieved." Kyle muttered after staring at the former Grand Master for a few seconds.

"You shouldn't be feeling guilty, Kyle, because this was _not_ your fault! I placed her on restricted activity for good reason. Right now, the strength of her own musculature has sufficient potential to cause a broken bone. She's endured a constant state of starvation and malnutrition which has not only stunted her growth and hindered her normal physical development, but also weakened her skeletal structure. Any strenuous activity on her part could potentially place her in a bacta tank for several days." Cilghal told him as she began wrapping the girl's leg in strips of bacta cloth to cover the wounds where the bones had been forced through the skin.

"Is her condition really that serious?' Leia asked in concern.

"Oh yes! If it weren't for her emotional state; I'd have dropped her in a bacta tank as soon as I found out about it, but for right now, activity restrictions combined with some compassion, and counseling are far more important. Even without the bacta tank, there are treatments that will help so that her bones can gain normal strength in a week or two. Her state of mind is going to be the more difficult problem." The healer replied as she finished up.

"Do you want this one to carry the girl to the infirmary?" Saba asked.

"Not just yet, Saba. I want to give her a few bacta injections to help seal those wounds before we release that tourniquet. Then we can move her to the infirmary." Cilghal replied.

Saba didn't say anything in reply, but instead began carefully searching through the Force, looking for any trace of the girl's presence. The reptilian Jedi Master reluctantly gave up when she could find nothing of the girl nearby and not knowing where to search within the boundless energy of the Force, she knew that she most likely wouldn't be able to find any trace of her without knowing the girl better.


	4. Chapter 4

SW4 (_Please excuse Talon's table manners in this chapter; she REALLY doesn't know any better.)_

Saba had been unable to find Talon in the Force, because Talon was nowhere near Corruscant. In fact, her consciousness was somewhere along the outer rim trailing a rogue comet as it sailed along on a collision course with the star that it had orbited for so long.

As it had on most occasions, the soft feminine voice that Talon had long been familiar with whispered to her; narrating the events that she was witnessing. Talon had no words to explain the emotions that she felt during these moments. All she knew; all she cared about, was that she was in a safe place where no one could hurt her, and no pain could reach, or touch her.

Although she couldn't have said what she was feeling, an engulfing sense of wonder gripped the girl's soul as she watched countless trillions of ice crystals sparkle and glow like rare and precious gemstones in the light of the sun that would soon destroy the source of those crystals. Neither Talon, nor the voice she was listening to, spoke a word as the comet began to fully break apart. Each piece glowing like a star itself until it too began to break into ever smaller pieces, leaving a seemingly endless path of brilliantly glowing gems of ice that were all that was left to testify that the comet had ever existed.

As her view of the scene pulled away, Talon couldn't help but wonder what would happen to that path of gemlike crystals. It was the first time she'd ever wanted to ask a question, and as if it heard her, the voice contained within the Force answered her.

"_Eventually, the ice will evaporate or dry up into gas and be pushed by stellar winds to the far reaches of space where they will eventually reform into another comet or something else entirely, because nothing ever truly dies."_

Leaving behind the nearly impossible beauty of the surrealistic scene, Talon found herself soaring past various worlds with a strange beauty of their own. Here, a gas giant surrounded by a vast ring of asteroids, reflecting the distant sunlight in thousands of different colors. There, a world with such a high axial tilt that it actually orbited the star on its side. Here, a planet with such a tight orbit that the sunward side was a boiling, churning hellish inferno, while the sunless side was an equally hellish frozen waste. Then the voice was telling her that she should return to her body, and it was with very great reluctance that Talon obeyed.

As her eyes regained focus, Talon saw four Jedi watching her intently. She had no idea how long they had been there, and it was with a start, that she realized she was no longer on the floor of the training room. In apprehension she sat up and started to look around when she felt someone grab her right hand. She turned her head to see Leia smile at her.

"Welcome back. You had us very worried you know." Leia told her.

"What does worried mean?" Talon asked uncertainly.

"It means that you scared us. We were afraid that you wouldn't be able to come back, and that you would die, or be lost forever in the Force." Leia answered frankly.

"But I was with the Force, where it's safe. It protects me, and teaches me." Talon whispered as she looked down at her lap.

"Really? What kinds of things does the Force teach you, Talon?" Luke asked her curiously as he leaned forward to hear her better.

"That... That nothing ever truly dies." Talon answered hesitantly.

Talon nearly jumped in fright when she saw Master Katarn face palm in a violent fashion. Saba was sissing loudly; Cilghal was shaking rapidly, while Luke sat there with a dumbstruck expression on his face. Turning to look at Leia, Talon gaped when the Jedi started laughing.

Although she knew that it wouldn't help and would only end up getting her in more trouble, Talon was ready to run and try to hide somewhere, when one of the Jedi finally spoke.

"Now there is a joke that this one understandz! Well done Little One! Very well done." Saba said approvingly.

"It'll be a long time before someone tops a prank like that even if it wasn't intentional." Kyle said laughing heartily.

"How can any of you think this is funny?" Luke demanded in annoyance.

"She comes back from what we swore was a near death experience and then casually tells you that nothing ever truly dies!" Leia said before she burst out laughing again.

"You have to admit, Luke that she got you with that one!" Kyle said as he started chuckling again. "I mean, how often is it that a student gets the chance to toss a vital core lesson back at no less than the former Grand Master, and founder of the New Order!" Kyle finished before he burst out laughing again.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Looks like the joke's on me. Not bad Talon! Better than most of mine actually." Luke replied as he finally started laughing a little himself.

"The best part is that it's only her first day." Leia added.

"This one is looking forward to teaching you, Little One." Saba said to Talon, who was glancing around nervously.

Talon just _knew_ that she was about to get in serious trouble. Spouting a Master's lessons back at them for the purpose of humiliation? She'd once seen a younger Master do that to Darth Magus, and the fight had been short and vicious. The Sith Lord had left the younger Master to die slowly from shock after he'd severed each limb a little at a time. She moved to get out of the bed and run when Leia pulled her into another one of those things she had called a hug.

"You really need to learn to relax, and not be so afraid all the time. Haven't you seen by now, that we really aren't like the Sith? You see, Talon, we have a very important rule here, and it's one that we try to never break. Treat people the way you want them to treat you. This is why Jedi don't hurt others unless we have no choice, because we don't want them to try to hurt us, or anyone else." Leia told Talon after she had pulled the girl into a hug and looked into those glowing golden eyes.

Leia had recognized the nearly blank emotional state which had always heralded a wave of fear or terror from the girl and had acted quickly in an attempt to dispel that fear before it could affect anyone else.

"I know you don't really believe us yet, and maybe you never will, but do me a favor and look at your leg. Then ask yourself why we would heal your leg if we wanted to hurt you." Leia instructed.

Talon did as she was told and looked at the lower portion of her left leg. Much of it had been wrapped in plasticast, which had been applied with several small ports to allow for injections of either pain killers or bacta treatments as needed. The hard casing around her leg started just above her ankle and extended to just below her knee. There was a small strip that wrapped around the bottom of her foot to help support her ankle, yet still allow for normal movement. Strapped to her leg on the outside of the cast was a brace made from some type of alloy Talon had never seen before. She could tell that the strange looking brace would provide a kind of supporting cage around her leg, but still let her walk on it.

Confusion was evident in the girl's face as she studied what had been done to her injured leg. Many questions went through her mind as she tried in vain to figure out why these Jedi were helping her like this.

All of the Jedi present could sense the doubts and uncertainty flowing through Talon's mind as she tried to make sense of what was now happening in her life. Leia knew more about the girl than any of the others did, and ironically, she felt that she was quite possibly one of the few people who would be able to understand some of what Talon was now going through. Just as Talon had watched helplessly while everyone she had ever known was slaughtered by ravenous beasts straight out of a nightmare, Leia had been forced to watch helplessly as her entire world had been destroyed with a single command.

Unlike Talon however, Leia knew that life did go on and that it was what one did with that life that would make a difference. The only question that plagued her, was would she be able to impart the wisdom of her own experience to Talon?

Talon sat there with the Jedi's arms around her as she tried to figure out what these Jedi wanted from her. They had to want something; at least she thought that they did, but she couldn't imagine what that something might be.

Leia sat there next to the bed with her left arm around the girl. Leia could feel the tension that seemed to be almost inherent in the child. Leia couldn't imagine living in such a constant state of fear for so long that it became an instinctive reaction to anything and everything. As the Jedi tried to figure out some way to start earning at least some type of trust from Talon, she heard the single chime that signaled the evening meal. Leia nearly grinned as an idea struck her.

"Kyle, would you do me a favor and have some trays sent in please?" Leia asked while glancing meaningfully at the girl she held.

Master Katarn blinked in surprise at the request that seemed to come out of nowhere, but then he realized that Talon had been off somewhere in the Force while lunch had been served and therefore had to be hungry.

"Now _that_ sounds like an excellent idea!" Kyle said with a grin as he left the infirmary.

None of the four Jedi said anything, but instead were focusing their attention on Talon. Even while being held in Leia's arms the girl was as stiff as a permacrete slab. Leia could feel that every muscle in the girl's body was wound so tight that the Jedi was afraid she might snap at any sudden move or noise. Knowing that Talon was ready to either cower in fear or possibly even try to run, didn't help matters much.

Talon knew that the Jedi were watching her, studying her. They were using both their eyes and the Force, but none of them were trying to enter her mind. It was that last part that she didn't understand. She recalled Leia telling her that they would need her permission to enter her mind, but if that was what they wanted, how could she stop them?

Talon was still trying to figure this out when the door to the infirmary slid open and the smell of food assailed her senses. Instantly her stomach rumbled loudly in protest.

"Was that _her_?" Kyle demanded in disbelief as he entered with a hover cart loaded with six meal trays.

"Yeah! If I didn't know any better, I'd still swear she was part Wookie!" Luke piped up with a grin.

"Making light of a physical reaction brought about by a lifetime of constant hunger pains is _not_ funny, Master Skywalker! Talon can't help her physical response to the smell of food." Cilghal rumbled disapprovingly.

"And you're right, that isn't funny, but you will have to admit, that for such a small girl, that is a _really_ loud noise." Luke replied.

"Yes it is, but it's still nothing to joke about." Cilghal qualified.

Kyle brought the hover cart over to where everyone was gathered near Talon's bed and began passing out trays.

"Here you go Talon. Enjoy." Kyle grinned as he held out a tray to the girl.

Talon looked at the tray of food that the Jedi was offering to her, and then gaped at him in disbelief. She had no clue as to why he would give her food, but she did know that she was hungry and she did want the food that he was offering. Thinking that he might take it back from her, Talon reached out hesitantly to take the tray.

Master Katarn knew the girl was hungry, but the way she was hesitating made him wonder if she thought that he'd poisoned it or something.

"Hey, look. I said that I was sorry for what I did. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, and I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm sorry for over reacting, and I'm really sorry for hurting you like that. You didn't deserve either of those results." Kyle told her as he handed her the tray.

Talon looked up at the Jedi as she took the tray and he seemed to wait for something before he turned away and started handing trays to the other Jedi.

"Tell him thank you." Leia whispered in her ear.

Talon froze when Leia spoke to her, but she hesitated only a second before obeying the command that she'd been given.

"Thank you." Talon offered not having the slightest idea what the phrase meant.

Talon set the tray on her thighs and looked down at it. There were several kinds of food on it, none of which she'd ever seen before. All she really knew about any of it was that it smelled like it could be eaten, and there were those strange tools on the tray that these Jedi used for eating. There was a large brown lump on the plate that was drenched in a thick brown fluid. There were some green things and blue things off to the side of it. Then there was also two slabs of something tan colored with what looked like thousands of tiny holes of slightly different sizes. Those pieces of unknown food had a slightly darker edge around them. Lastly, there was a tall glass of thick blue fluid, and a small bowl of what looked like blue mush.

Once again grasping her fork in her fist like a lightsaber, Talon dug into the largest piece of food on her plate. It turned out to be that ultimate bane of academic existence everywhere. No matter which universe one traveled to, there would always be some version of meatloaf to be found. Commonly referred to as 'The mystery brick'; most of the students at the Jedi academy actively loathed the nerf loaf.

Talon had no predisposition to dislike the much hated culinary concoction, and therefore dug right in. Even though she tried to match the pace at which she had seen both Leia and her brother eat on board the ship, her table manners were nonexistent at best. Any of the gravy that spilled from her fork was immediately scooped up by nimble fingers that were as fast as any lightsaber strike she might have made.

Three Jedi stared in a strange mixture of disgust, revulsion, and awe at table manners that would have made a ravenous rancor seem neat by comparison. The napkin lay completely untouched and ignored in favor of fingers that repeatedly found bits of errant food and drops of gravy and brought them to the girl's mouth to be greedily and somewhat noisily slurped off of those same fingers.

Luke knew that his own table manners had been much better when he'd left Tatooine, but he still remembered the countless hours that his sister had spent helping him to improve those table manners. He was surprised that Leia didn't start correcting Talon right then.

Leia might have acted as if she didn't notice the atrocious eating habits on display; but with it occurring right next to her, it was something that was impossible _not_ to notice.

"And people used to complain about _my_ table manners." Kyle muttered to himself.

"I'm pretty sure that it's only the second time she's ever seen a fork, so give her a little break. At least this time she's not trying to shove half the plate in her mouth at once." Luke responded remembering the last meal he'd shared with the girl.

Kyle stared at the former Grand Master in disbelief while Saba was sissing in amusement.

"As hungry and eager as any youngling after the first hunt." Saba remarked jokingly.

"And just as neat too." Kyle added with a chuckle.

Talon was trying to copy the methods that the Jedi were using. She had just finished her nerfloaf when she saw Kyle tear a piece off of the tan colored thing and use it to scoop up some of the gravy off his plate. Out of pure curiosity Talon picked up the tan square and looked at it interestedly. Her curiosity piqued, she tried what she had just seen the Jedi do.

Kyle noticed her action, and while it wasn't a model of decorum, it was still far better than the girl had been doing. He'd been about to compliment her on the improvement when a string of gravy started to drip from the bread, and Talon caught it with her other hand and after shoving the chunk of bread in her mouth, began licking the gravy off her hand and fingers.

Leia cringed, and managed not to groan at the display, but it wasn't easy. One thing she did notice was Talon was at least chewing with her mouth closed; most likely in an effort to avoid losing any of the food that she managed to get into it. She decided that she would sit down with the girl at a later time and work with her on the various points of dinning etiquette.

"Wait a second. If she's never seen a fork before, what has she been eating that she didn't need one?" Kyle asked after he'd thought about Luke's comment.

"From the memories I saw, it seems that whoever was in charge of provisions bought whatever packets of emergency rations were available at the cheapest price." Leia supplied.

Kyle set his fork down and wiped his mouth before giving Leia a hard look.

"You said emergency rations, _not_ field rations. Those things may have a shelf life of centuries, but they are the _nastiest_ things ever to be called edible, and I am certainly _not_ willing to give that stuff the title of _food_!" Kyle said vehemently.

"If that is all she's familiar with, then that would explain why she was able to eat those Kel Dor rations you mentioned." Cilghal put in. "If she's never been exposed to anything else, then to her thinking, anything in a similar package would be safely edible."

"Hmm, that might also account for why she was able to tolerate the smell and taste." Leia suggested.

"Okay, can we please stop discussing emergency rations and Kel Dor rations? I am trying to eat here." Kyle asked. The Jedi master did _not_ want to think about the oily, greasy, slimy, and smelly slab of cake that looked and smelled like wet rotting rancid mildew and he certainly didn't want to think about the high amount of sulpher contained in Kel Dor food supplies that gave them the impossibly strong smell of rotten eggs.

"This one agreez, at least until she finishes her meal." Saba replied.

"Well, if she's used to eating that stuff, then it's no wonder she seems to have taken a liking to nerfloaf, Kibla greens, Blue leaf shrub, and Haroun bread. I'm just waiting to see what happens when she hits that dessert." Luke added with a mischievous grin.

Kyle groaned in dismay when he thought about that part of the meal which appeared to be rapidly approaching.

Talon knew that were talking about food, and the way she was eating the food, but they weren't bothering her or trying to take it away from her; and to Talon, that was all that mattered. She'd already eaten the brown slab, the green things, and the blue things on her plate and used the tan things to get most of the brown fluid. As she looked around the tray she saw that bowl of blue mush and slid it closer to her.

When Talon bit down on the blue stuff from the bowl, she winced as the cold hit her teeth painfully. She swallowed quickly and stared down at the stuff. Deciding to try it again she scooped up a rather large bite and swallowed it whole. Three seconds after Talon swallowed the stuff she dropped her fork on her tray and grabbed both of her temples as her head started pounding.

Not one word was spoken as five Jedi stared in surprise. It was several seconds before anyone did speak.

"Sorry Talon. I guess someone should have told you how to eat Beebleberry ice cream. Try taking very small bites and swallow them whole. If you'll eat it slowly, you won't get any more headaches from brain freeze. But don't feel bad though, the same thing happened to me the first time I tried ice cream. Didn't have too many frozen treats on Tatooine." Luke suggested.

Talon winced again and shook her head. "I... I don't, don't want it." She whispered nervously.

"That's fine Talon. If you don't like the dessert, you don't have to eat it. We do prefer that students finish most of the main course before eating their dessert, but that doesn't seem like a problem in your case." Leia told her kindly.

Talon nodded her still aching head. Once the pain had passed, Talon reached down and grabbed the glass of blue fluid. She gave the glass a really dirty look when she felt how cold it was.

"Drink it slowly and you won't get another headache." Kyle suggested.

Talon nodded her head and tried the stuff. It was like nothing she had ever tasted before. It didn't have a strong smell or taste like the ration packets that she was used to, but instead, it was rich, sweet, and smooth. Talon's eyes shot wide open as the flavor of the stuff actually had time to hit her taste buds. Never having had anything with sugar or sweetener in it before, Talon could no more have described the taste than she could say what the stuff was. Talon quickly drained her glass and licked her lips in an effort to get the absolute last of it.

"What... What was that stuff?" Talon asked timidly as she turned to Leia.

"It's called Blue milk, or Bantha's milk. That's also what they use in making the ice cream that you didn't like." Leia answered.

Talon looked at the now empty glass, which was sitting on a tray that was now devoid of everything except that pain inducing ice cream, and she was not about to try eating it again unless she was told to. She remembered Luke telling her that she could have more food if she wanted it, but that had been on board the ship, and now this was a different place altogether.

"Can I have some more?" Talon asked in a nervous but hopeful whisper.

"Absolutely. I was about to ask if you felt like eating an extra portion. You certainly need both the calories and the vitamins for proper physical development. Especially at this stage in your life. So, what would you like more of?" Cilghal responded.

"The brown thing with the stuff on it, those tan things, and some more Bantha milk." Talon answered in a hopeful tone.

"Wow! Now that has got to be a first. A kid that won't touch ice cream if she doesn't have to, but actually _likes_ nerfloaf." Kyle commented with an amused chuckle.

"M-26 I need two servings each of nerfloaf, Haroun bread, and Bantha's milk for the patient." Cilghal ordered one of the medical droids. "He'll be back with your food shortly Talon."

"Tell her thank you." Leia prompted.

"Thank you." Talon said as she once again obeyed the order.

Leia noticed the girl's brow furrow in concentration, and decided that an explanation might help.

"You say thank you to someone that does something for you, when they give you something, or when they say something nice to you." Leia informed the girl.

With nothing to do until the droid came back with her food, Talon did what she usually did upon finding herself with a spare moment or two. She let herself start to drift in the Force.

"Talon!" Saba blurted out dropping her fork in surprise as she looked over at the girl.

Kyle let out a relieved sigh when he saw Talon sitting up in the bed. "She ought to give us a warning before doing that, because that is really disturbing."

Cilghal began to study Talon intently. Now that the Mon Cal healer wasn't preoccupied with a rather serious injury, she would be able to observe this a lot more closely. Talon's body was still sitting up in a fairly relaxed position. Her eyes were open, but vacant and unfocused. While her hands were resting limply in her lap, there was a completely blank expression on the girl's face. The physician noted that Talon's breathing became deep and regular, as if the girl was asleep. There was no response to calling the girl's name, but as soon as the med bay doors slid open, Talon's eyes regained their focus and she seemed to become aware of herself once more.

Talon's consciousness had barely left her body when she encountered the soft whispering presence that she'd come to think of as that of the Force itself. Instead of roaming through the galaxy, visiting other star systems, and the worlds of those systems, Talon found herself contained within the Jedi complex. This was the first time that Talon had ever been near other people during her excursions within the Force, and it surprised her that she could actually hear them talking. Many of the students were telling others about the training accident that had occurred. Older students, who knew that accidents, could and often did happen during training, simply continued with their studies. She saw several students, and Masters too for that matter, browsing through the vast amount of information contained in the reconstructed archives. In another room, she saw a class of students close to her age learning how to maintain their lightsabers, while others were learning to maintain and repair various pieces of equipment, or parts from starship engines. The next room over she was amazed to see a group of students learning how to administer first aid to those who might be injured. In the lounge where she'd had a cup of caf with Leia, was a group gathered around a pair of students who were in the middle of a rather intense game of dejarik. Talon had never seen or even heard of the holographic strategy game before, and watched with intense curiosity. Talon was about to ask a question when she sensed something change close to her physical body. Knowing that hesitation in answering a Master could prove painful, Talon returned quickly.

Talon looked towards the door to see the droid rolling in, and hungrily accepted the food laden tray that the droid presented her with. Within seconds of receiving the second tray, Talon was happily tearing the Haroun bread into pieces to sop up the gravy, before popping those dripping pieces into her mouth.

As soon as he'd felt the girl's departure from her physical form, Luke Skywalker made a thorough search within the Force and quickly discovered her presence nearby. He sensed Talon roaming through the Jedi Temple, and noted that she was moving around the various class rooms. The former Grand Master almost smiled to himself, when he picked up on the child's near insatiable hunger for knowledge. It was almost as if after having been denied for so long, that now with the chance to truly learn in front of her, she wasn't willing to miss any of it.

_Talon is going to make for a very interesting pupil._ Luke thought to himself with an inward smile as he'd followed the child's wandering mind.

Currently, Talon was working her way through her second tray of food with the same messy mannerisms as she had the first. A loud slurping noise was made as Talon pulled her formerly gravy covered fingers out of her mouth. Talon froze just before putting another piece of gravy soaked bread in her mouth. She could easily sense the emotions of those around her, and she now sensed the approach of someone who was angry.

Talon looked over at the doors to the infirmary just as the Grand Master of the Jedi order walked in.

"I hope some here can tell me why there's an ancient _Sith_ fighter parked out on the landing pad, especially since no one else seems to know anything about it!" Grand Master Hamner demanded angrily.

"I can answer that for you, Master Hamner." Leia spoke up calmly. "It's parked there because it belongs to one of our new prospective students who arrived earlier this morning."

"What is a possible student doing with something like that, and where did they get their hands on a Sith fighter?" Master Hamner demanded instantly.

"She got it from Korriban, and before you ask, yes, she is the legal owner." Leia answered with a slight smirk.

"And you didn't think to inform me, or one of the other council members about this?" Master Hamner promptly demanded.

At that point the former senator of Alderaan got angry. Playing politics among the politicians was one thing, but dragging that type of slugfest into the order was another.

"I did file a report on it; several hours ago. I've also informed the three council members that happen to be sitting right here, of a Sith presence. I certainly can't be to blame because _you_ were too busy playing at politics to attend to your paperwork." Leia retorted barely managing to keep the venom out of her tone.

"This student is a _Sith_? _That_ will be the day! I'll be damned if I let a Sith into this academy! We have enough trouble as it is, without the problems that having a Sith around would cause. I don't care who this student is, I want them gone as soon as possible. Understand?" Kenth Hamner ground out.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you don't have the authority to make a decision like that. Turning _any_ student away from this, or any of the other academies is a decision for the council as a whole. And as a member of that council, and having at least learned _something_ about the situation before making a snap judgment, I'm going to have to disagree with you." Master Katarn put in.

"We'll just have to see about that now won't we? I don't think you'll find too much support when the others find out it's a Sith we're talking about, and if I find out who it is, I'll make sure they leave myself!" Master Hamner exploded.

"Get out! You may have the final say in some council decisions, but _I_ have final say in this infirmary, and I will _not_ have you upsetting my patients, and Sith or not, I most certainly won't tolerate you issuing _threats_ against one of my patients while in my presence! Now get out before I throw you out." Cilghal rumbled angrily as she saw the subject of the discussion cowering on the bed.

Too scared to even think straight, Talon knew that she was surrounded by Jedi. Waves of anger were rolling through her mind, and she knew that it wasn't hers. Glancing around the room, she could almost see the anger pouring off of everyone nearby. They were all so close that she knew there was no way that she could try to slip between them to run.

Sliding the half empty tray of food off her lap, Talon noticed an opening. She couldn't slip between any of the Jedi, they were far to close for that, but she _could_ jump over them, and that was just what she did.

Hamner and Cilghal were standing face to face and glaring at one another when the Grand Master saw a blur of motion fly past his head. Out of pure reflex upon being startled like that, he'd grabbed and ignited his lightsaber even as he turned to face whatever it was that had flown over his head.

Talon hit the floor rolling. She didn't stop as soon as she'd landed, but instead propelled herself further forward until she was in a corner. Then she turned around to see what was happening. The angry Jedi with his lightsaber out was blocking the only door that Talon could see, and as far as she knew, she was trapped.

Luke looked over at the far corner where Talon had finally come to a stop. The girl was literally quaking in terror. There was no wave of fear this time, but instead, there was a solid impenetrable wall of panic and mortal terror. Knowing that this situation needed to be dealt with and fast, he acted.

With a burst of Force enhanced speed, Luke stood and shouldered his way past the two irate council members. Then he reached out with the Force and pulled one of Talon's single hilt lightsabers to his hand before turning his back to the girl and stood in front of her.

"I'm not sure exactly what you're planning to do Kenth, but exiled or not, I'm not about to let you continue to terrorize a child, especially one that also happens to have been severely injured. So before you think about using that weapon on her, you're going to have to get past me. And I warn you; I _won't_ be holding back." Luke stated calmly.

Kenth Hamner glared at the man he'd replaced as Grand Master. He knew that there was a large amount of anti Jedi sentiment among both the galactic leaders as well as the general population these days, and he'd been doing everything he could think of to keep the New Order out of the line of fire. The fact that he hadn't been entirely successful weighed heavily on his mind. After Chief of State Daala had been proven to be falsely vilifying the New Order and pursuing a personal vendetta against them, things had improved to a small extent, but the Jedi still had to tread a very fine line. Then this pops up in his lap. Well, he'd be able to deal with this the same as he'd dealt with all the other problems that had cropped up lately.

"You have been exiled from the Order, Skywalker! You're not even supposed to be here. You aren't allowed to be involved in the order for any reason!" Hamner stated, conveniently changing the subject.

"You know, you really should stop jumping to conclusions. You'll notice that I'm not wearing Jedi robes, nor am I wearing my lightsaber. That's why I had to borrow one of hers." Luke replied with a nod towards the girl still cowering behind him. Luke didn't mention the fact that after having discovered why Jacen had been consumed by the Darkside that his exile was technically over.

"Well, if you're not here in an 'official' capacity, then what _are_ you doing here?" Hamner demanded suspiciously.

"I'm here at my sister's request, to help the sole survivor of a terrible tragedy. A thirteen year old girl who had to watch as everyone she ever knew was killed right in front of her eyes. The fact that this survivor happens to have been trained by the Sith is irrelevant. She was being traumatized by those same Sith that raised and trained her, even before the tragedy occurred. She is here, now, in need of shelter and support. Now, will you grant her that shelter and support, or do you want to prove that the Jedi Order is as cruel and evil as her Sith Masters have taught her to believe? Either way, you need to shut that down, or try to get past me." Luke told Hamner calmly as he ignited the lightsaber he'd snatched from Talon.

Grand Master Hamner stared at the brilliant red blade that flashed into existence to add emphasis to Luke's words. Then he looked beyond the man who was currently the most skilled Jedi in the galaxy, at the girl who was cowering behind him, shaking in fear, while watching in wide eyed terror what was happening.

Suddenly the Grand Master shook his head, and blinked as if clearing away a mental fog. He had no idea how things had gotten this out of hand, nor how the situation had escalated so far that two Jedi Masters were now pulling lightsabers on each other. He was about to try to say something, anything to diffuse the tension in the room, when he found himself suddenly pinned against the wall by a strength that was far greater than his own.

"This one thinkz that you need to listen carefully. She doesn't pretend to know why you are doing this, but she _does_ know that you are behaving far _worse_ than the Sith whose presence you are objecting to. If you would but open your eyes and truly look at this particular Sith, you will see, not a powerful Sith Lord bent on destruction and domination, but a frightened youngling who is sure that _you_ want to kill her! Is this what we are to become? Is this the future of the order, to embark on mighty hunts to kill helpless younglingz who've not had the chance to learn better? Such thingz are not what we represent. We are Jedi; beaconz of light to show otherz the proper way, and now we have one among us who truly needz such guidance. Will you now deny a youngling a chance to walk a path in the light?" Saba demanded after she'd gained the man's attention by pinning him to the wall.

The snap hiss of a deactivating lightsaber gave the Barabel Master part of her answer as Grand Master Hamner lowered his head.

"My apologies. I'm not sure what came over me just now, but I was wrong, and way out of line. I'd like some time to think this through so that it can be properly discussed in a council meeting. It seems this position is much more difficult than it appears, and the stress must be getting to me." Master Hamner said sincerely.

Upon hearing the Grand Master apologize for his actions, Saba released her hold on him, although she still kept a sharp pair of eyes on the man.

The sound of a second lightsaber deactivating drew everyone's attention as Luke turned, knelt down, and offered Talon's weapon back to her. The girl's hesitation and fear were obvious to those watching as she accepted the proffered weapon and placed it back on her belt.

Talon wasn't sure what was happening. She knew that there had just been a confrontation over what was to be done with her, but there hadn't been a fight, no one had been killed, nor had anyone been injured. With no winner being obvious to her, she didn't know if she was going to be sent off to survive on her own, killed, or allowed to stay. The answer to the unspoken question of her immediate fate was answered when Luke spoke to her.

"Come on Talon. Let's get you back on the bed so you can finish eating, and Cilghal can check to see if you've re-injured your leg." Luke offered as he held out his hand.

"How'd she get hurt?" Hamner asked when he spotted the plasticast and brace on the girl's left leg.

"A gross mistake on my part during a training session. If I'd asked a few more questions, it never would have happened. I Force pushed her into a wall, and while it wasn't very hard, it was hard enough. From what I've learned afterward, we're all lucky she wasn't killed." Kyle admitted.

"You threw a student. No scratch that. A _possible_ student into a wall hard enough to cause injury?" Hamner demanded in disbelief.

"No, he didn't. She was injured because of a medical condition which has caused her to have very brittle bone structure. And now I'll need to re examine her to make sure she hasn't fractured anything else in that flight across the infirmary." Cilghal intoned as she walked over to where Talon was huddled in a corner.

Talon tensed in an instinctive reaction when she felt the Mon Cal healer conduct a quick exam of her body using the Force, but relaxed slightly when there was no attempt to enter her mind. She started to get to her feet when the healer continued coming towards her, but then stayed seated after being told not to move.

"If you'll take her right side, I'll get her left and we can carry her back to the bed. I really don't want her putting any weight on that leg until I get at least one more session of Force healing performed on it." Cilghal asked Luke as she got into position.

Once Talon was back on the bed, Cilghal picked up and handed the girl's tray of food back to her, which was readily accepted.

The first bite of food was halfway to her mouth when she paused and looked up at the healer.

"Thank you." Talon offered softly hoping that she'd done it right.

"You're welcome." Cilghal replied easily.

Master Hamner watched as Talon resumed eating her dinner, and couldn't help but notice the apprehensive glances that kept coming his way. He looked the girl over carefully, and didn't fail to notice the unusual number of lightsabers attached to the child's belt.

"Can someone at least tell me why she's got _four_ lightsabers?" He asked finally.

"She carries different weapons for different forms. I'll be happy to elaborate on that in front of the council, tomorrow, if you'd like. Her saber skills are quite impressive, as are her telekinetic skills. I know it's not usual for a Knight to attend such meetings, but Talon's is an unusual case, and for right now, I'm the one who's most familiar with it. As Luke said earlier, she's been heavily traumatized by the Sith, and by the incident which prompted her hasty flight from Korriban." Leia answered.

"And just how hasty _was _this flight?" Hamner questioned dubiously.

"She fled wearing nothing more than a belt to hold her weapons, and the gore of the creatures she had to kill to survive. Again, if you'll read my report, you'll be able to learn more, and later tonight, I'll have time to review some additional information which might give me a few more answers. For right now, suffice to say that even with barely escaping Korriban alive while getting poisoned in the process, getting her leg broken and being sure that someone was going to kill her, today has probably been the best day of Talon's life so far, given the misery she'd have to compare it to." Leia replied candidly.

The Grand Master of the Jedi order gave Leia a hard look before turning to leave. "I'm going to assume that what you just said was a very poor attempt at a very bad joke; because I'm not sure I want to think about just how bad someone's life would have to be in order for a statement like that to be true." Master Hamner said as he left.

"I'm sorry about that Talon. I knew that bringing you here would be hard for many to accept. And to be honest, if I hadn't met you the way I did, it would have been hard for me to accept as well. I won't try to tell you that the next few days will be easy, because they may not be. But whatever happens, I'll be right there with you." Leia said as she placed her hand on Talon's shoulder, feeling that she owed the girl some kind of explanation after what had just happened.

Talon stopped eating and looked down at the tray with a worried expression on her face. More than a hundred questions raced through her mind at that moment, but there was one that was foremost in her thoughts. Talon swallowed hard and steeled herself to ask that question.

"Am... Am I going to be sent to the wilds?" She asked softly.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that Talon, can you explain it to me?" Leia responded.

"When someone breaks the rules, they sometimes get sent to the wilds. To live on their own with the shyrack, Lairgek, Tukata beasts, and Guardians." Talon answered in a whisper.

Of the five Jedi in the infirmary, only two were close enough to hear the girl's whispered answer, and only one fully understood the implications of that answer. Although Cilghal didn't understand the reference to the Guardians; the Jedi healer did know what shyrack and Tukata beasts were. Both Jedi felt the blood drain from their faces as they thought of sending someone so young out to face such a fate on their own.

Leia closed her eyes as she tried to regain her mental composure. It wasn't easy when someone constantly expected something from her that was so horrible, that Leia couldn't ever imagine herself doing any of it.

"No Talon. I can promise that you will never be sent to the wilds. I can't say that you'll be allowed to stay here, even though I'm going to do my best to see that you can. But I will say that if you do have to leave, then you can come stay with me. Is that fair enough?" Leia said earnestly.

Talon had no words for the emotions that were going through her mind at that moment, nor could she have described what she was feeling. She felt her chest tighten almost painfully, tears well up in her eyes, and without knowing why, she knew that if this Jedi asked her to, she would even face the Guardians all over again without hesitation. As the tears slowly began to slide down her cheeks, Talon felt Leia's hand move from her right shoulder over to her left.

Leia pulled the girl closer to her in a partial embrace. She liked to believe that she was a caring, compassionate person, but at the same time she knew that years of political maneuvers and seemingly endless wars had helped to harden whatever sympathies she might have had. Still, every time she looked at Talon, all she could think about was how she would feel if it was one of her children that had been raised and treated like this.

As a parent, Leia had wanted nothing but good things in life for her children, and that included a galaxy which was safe to live in, free from tyranny, and free from the horrors of war. To an extent, she knew her efforts had helped to overthrow the Empire, and even though that hadn't brought about the end of war, it had helped to make the galaxy a safer place. But now, right here beside her, in her very arms was living proof that she hadn't succeeded nearly as well as she and many others had thought.

The life that Talon had lived thus far, was every parents worst nightmare. Fear, terror, discomfort, cruelty, misery, pain, hunger, and torment; no parent wanted any of these things for their children, and it pained the Jedi to know that Talon had never known or experienced anything else. Leia knew that she couldn't erase what had been done to the girl in the past, but she could try to ensure a worthwhile future for Talon, and that was exactly what she resolved to do.

"Go ahead and finish eating Talon." Leia instructed.

Talon reached under her ocular filter to wipe the tears from her eyes before she started eating again.

Kyle was gathering the now empty trays and loading them on the hover cart to take them back to the cafeteria. Just before he left, Kyle looked over at the girl sitting on the bed eating her dinner. Then he looked down at the cast and brace covering the girl's lower left leg and shook his head regretfully.

"Do not worry about the Council meeting, Jedi Solo; this one will be there to support both you and the little one. This one has a good feeling that thingz will work out." The Barabel said before she too left the infirmary.

"Thank you Saba." Leia said gratefully. She'd been about to say more when she felt Talon go completely rigid beneath her arm which was still across the girl's shoulders.

Cilghal stopped what she'd been about to do and looked up at Talon while managing to look believably hurt.

"Now did I hurt you the last time I examined you?" The healer asked in a tone that matched her expression.

"No." Talon answered as she shook her head nervously.

"So why do you think I would do such a thing now?" Cilghal asked sounding dismayed.

Talon didn't know how to answer that question without making the Jedi angry, so she just hung her head and looked down at her lap without saying anything.

"You should try to relax Talon. Let go of your fears. It's not healthy for you to be so afraid all the time. I'm just going to use the Force to speed up the healing in your leg. You're welcome to watch and observe if you like." Cilghal said gently.

Talon nodded her head and opened herself to the Force as the healer had suggested, and Cilghal nearly gasped in surprise when she felt the Force rushing into the child. She knew that few Jedi could summon the Force to them as easily as this girl seemed to be able to do. With a quick shake of her head to clear her thoughts and mind, Cilghal began to focus herself.

Concentrating on the injured leg, Cilghal began pulling the Force to her and sending that energy into the point of injury that she was focusing on. She could sense her patient following her every move within the Force. Through the Force, Cilghal could literally _see_ the cells of the broken bones multiplying to seal the breaks, and while she knew that the bones would not be fully healed after only two sessions like this, they would be much farther along than relying on bacta treatments alone.

Cilghal was concentrating on using the Force, and was suddenly very surprised to find her strength in the Force being augmented by the energy that Talon was literally pouring into her. The healer had heard that there were techniques that would allow one to lend their strength to someone else, but Cilghal was thoroughly surprised that one as young as Talon would know such an advanced technique.

After nearly twenty minutes of sending the Force through the girl's leg, Cilghal was exhausted. As she came out of the near trancelike state, she staggered backwards to all but fall into the chair across from the girl's bed and closed her eyes. She began to recover her strength by taking several deep breaths, and simply relaxing.

Talon stared at the Jedi in open mouthed shock. She could sense how tired Cilghal was after what the healer had done to fix her leg. Being as open as she was to the Force, Talon had easily been able to sense and follow what Cilghal had been doing. She just didn't know, or even begin to understand _how_ it had been accomplished. She did sense that the Jedi had been trying to help her and that was why she had done one of the things she'd been trained to do and given her strength in the Force to the Healer. She knew that the Jedi had spent a tremendous effort to use a lot of Force energy on her leg, and seemed to deplete her own strength in the Force while doing so. She knew that the Jedi had done this to help her, but at the same time, she didn't understand why.

Talon was really confused now. She knew that one Jedi had wanted to kill her, or send her to the wilds, while another Jedi was protecting her; one Jedi had hurt her, and another had healed her. None of it made any sense to her. Not knowing what else to do, Talon finished what food was left on her tray.

When Talon started on the first of the two glasses of Bantha milk, she slowed down to examine the taste of it. This was the first time in her life that she'd ever noticed the flavor of something that she was eating or drinking, and something about this particular taste made her want to experience the flavor as long as possible.

After finishing off both glasses of Bantha's milk, Talon spotted the gravy still left in her plate. Picking it up, she began licking up all of the gravy she could get. When Talon finally finished everything, she wiped her hand across her mouth and noticed the gravy that she'd just removed from her face. Without any hesitation, she began licking that gravy off her hand. She'd just finished cleaning her hand with her mouth and tongue when she noticed Leia close her eyes, put her face in her hands, and shudder hard. She could clearly sense the Jedi's revulsion, and disgust, and those were feelings that Talon was all too familiar with.

Certain that she knew what was about to happen, Talon put her hands in her lap, closed her eyes, and waited for the mental invasion that had always followed those feelings.

While Leia knew very well that Talon had never been shown any kind of table manners; but she also knew that there was no way that she could sit through another meal like that one without wanting to scream. The girl's complete lack of anything even remotely approaching table manners was going to be corrected now, if she didn't manage to teach Talon anything else, she was going to learn at least _some_ table manners.

"Talon, why don't we go back to the lounge and have a cup of caf and let Master Cilghal get some rest? She's pretty worn out after that last healing session." Leia suggested.

Surprised that the expected invasion of her mind never came, Talon opened her eyes and looked at the Jedi still sitting to her right. The expression on the Jedi's face told Talon that she was waiting for an answer. Talon nodded, and began to gingerly get out of the bed. The pain killing medications were still doing their job, so her leg didn't hurt when she set it on the floor and carefully put some weight on it. Talon picked up her cloak and put it on before turning to face Leia once again.

"I want you to come back here as soon as you start hurting again. Just because you're injured doesn't mean you have to be in pain." Cilghal rumbled firmly.

Talon turned to look at the Mon Cal healer in confusion. "But the Masters always said that pain is supposed to be used to fuel your strength."

"It is true that there have been Sith who can use pain, Talon; even extreme types of injuries to fuel their anger and their strength, but do you want to be in pain?" Luke asked with a slight frown.

"No." Talon answered simply.

"Then why hurt, and be in pain when Cilghal has medications and healing techniques in the Force that can keep you from feeling the pain?" Luke asked rhetorically with a slight grin.

Talon didn't know how to answer that question so she merely hung her head in response. Luke could see the confusion written on the girl's face and realized that she thought he expected an answer.

"You don't have to answer that Talon, but just think about it." Luke told her.

Talon nodded her head and looked up at Leia as the Jedi came around the bed.

"I can join you for a cup of caf before I need to leave. Hamner doesn't want to place the Order in jeopardy, and I can't really blame him, even if I disagree with his methods." Luke told his sister amiably.

"There's quite a few that aren't happy with those decisions, but this isn't the time or place to discuss that now. Besides, I don't think Talon's ready for a lesson in politics just yet." Leia replied with a light chuckle.

As the two Jedi led her out of the infirmary, Talon saw many students gathered in small groups to pass the time talking, playing a few games, and some who were just generally cutting up, and telling jokes. This was very surprising to her, because any time a student was awake at the Sith academy, they had to be training or studying. If they weren't, they were given severe punishment, but then there really wasn't any other kind of punishment that she knew of.

Talon wanted to ask about this, but she didn't want those students to get punished if they were doing something wrong.

Once inside the lounge, Leia led them to the same table they had used earlier. Before she sat down, Talon was once again drawn to the view of Coruscant's gleaming spires, and bustling airways. Countless minds beyond number were out there to be sensed. Countless minds, whose thoughts had been constantly impinging on her own since she had arrived on this world. In one way, Talon was lucky that there were so many, since it meant that the thoughts or emotions from any one mind were drowned out by a multitude of others. But in another way, all of those minds together were threatening to overwhelm her own thoughts.

Everything she could see was bright, clean, new, and shiny; a far cry from the dull weathered stone corridors of the academy on Korriban, where everything had been old, if not ancient and well used.

Softly glowing golden irises flickered back and forth as Talon watched hundreds, even thousands of speeder cars, and air speeders carry their passengers to their myriad destinations. She could see people on far away landing pads that looked as small as the rock mites or blood flies that would sometimes plague the students of the Sith academy in their sleep.

Just thinking of the small parasitical insects that were always biting was enough to make her want to start scratching. Talon idly wondered if they had those kinds of bugs here at the Jedi academy.

Talon picked up a sense of amusement behind her and focused on the source. Because it was much closer than any of the other feelings she was sensing, she was able to determine both direction and proximity. Turning to look at the source, she saw Leia smiling lightly at her.

"A lot different from Korriban, isn't it?" She asked gesturing towards a chair.

Talon nodded her head and hesitantly pulled out the chair to sit down. She could still look out the window if she wanted, but she sensed that the Jedi had something in mind, and wanted her attention.

Leia had put some thought into exactly how she would phrase this, and there was really no easy or polite way to say it, so she'd decided to come right out with it.

"Talon, we're here so that I can teach you the proper way to eat, without making a mess, and without making others around you sick to their stomach." Leia told her.

"How did I do it wrong? I used the tools like you told me to." Talon asked worriedly, certain that some form of punishment was coming.

"Well, you did use the knife and fork, but you didn't even touch the napkin, and you were dripping gravy everywhere and eating off the plate and even your fingers and hands." Leia replied shuddering once more at the thought.

"I went ahead and let you finish eating, because I wanted you to be able to concentrate on what I'm going to teach you, and at the same time, I don't want you to go hungry while you're learning." Leia said as she motioned a server droid over to the table.

Talon didn't say anything as she waited to find out what was going to happen in the next few minutes.

"Bring us two complete place settings. Each with one serving of nerfloaf from the cafeteria, extra gravy, and three slices of Haroun bread. Two glasses of Bantha's milk, and three cups of caf, with cream and sweetener on the side." Leia ordered when the server droid made its silent appearance.

As the droid trundled off to fill her order, Leia noticed Talon staring at the table with an air of expectant doom hovering over her. It was only her experience as a mother who'd raised three children that gave her the patience not to scream at the girl that no one was going to hurt her. Even so, that patience was being sorely pressed into strained service.

"Talon." Leia began firmly. "I need you to listen to me very carefully." She continued when the girl looked up. "I'm not going to punish you for eating wrong. Instead, I'm going to teach you to eat properly. Understand?"

Talon nodded her head to acknowledge that she understood, but the forlorn expression never left her face.

Four hours and five cups of caf later, Leia was finally satisfied that Talon could eat at a table with others without causing everyone around her to lose their appetite. It had been a very trying experience for the Jedi, because Talon just couldn't understand why she shouldn't eat with her fingers, nor could she understand why she had to waste any food that she didn't get into her mouth.

Luke had left after the first half hour, leaving Leia to do this on her own. It hadn't been easy, and although she had managed to get Talon to learn the basics, such as cutting up her food and properly using the napkin; the girl still ate somewhat faster than would be considered polite and still gripped her fork like a lightsaber. Leia had decided not to attempt everything in a single session after noticing that Talon had been paying rapt attention and trying desperately to learn everything as if her life depended on it. The Jedi Knight sighed heavily as she realized that Talon probably thought that this was the case.

Leia had the server droid bring them one last cup of caf while the table was being cleared of the dishes. She knew that it was late and that the rest of the students were in their quarters, if not already in bed. While they sat there, Leia studied the girl. She knew that reaching out with the Force would send the child into a near panic, so instead Leia decided to try a page from Talon's book.

Opening herself to the Force in the way she'd seen Talon do on several occasions wasn't anywhere near as easy as the girl made it seem. It took a concentrated effort to disregard an entire lifetime of guarding her thoughts and emotions. It took still more effort to drop the defenses that had been ingrained into her through countless hours of training and discipline.

On her first attempt to duplicate what she'd seen Talon accomplish, Leia knew that she'd never be able to fully open her mind to the extent that Talon could. There were simply far too many barriers, and too many hours of training in the way. None the less, Leia was still pleasantly surprised at the level of connection that she was able to achieve.

The Force was flowing into her with a strength she'd never felt before, and she knew instantly why Talon would do this at every given opportunity. Leia was easily able to sense the girl's presence at the table, more; she was able to sense the apprehension in the girl, the fear that went so deep that it filled the girl's entire mind. Leia knew that she hadn't detected anywhere near this much stress and fear in Talon when she'd entered the girl's mind on board the Alderaan. She had to think about that for a minute before she figured out that when she had entered Talon's mind, she had raised her own defenses to block out things that she didn't want to experience. Sadly, the Jedi realized that she would never be able to develop the type of trust necessary to fully open herself the way that Talon could.

Being careful not to actually probe or invade Talon's mind in any way, Leia simply accepted the feelings and sensations that the Force brought to her. She could now understand just how deep Talon's fear ran. Fear of being punished, fear of being killed, fear of being exiled, fear of having her mind invaded, fear of pain, fear of being tormented, fear of her Masters, fear of her fellow students, fear of starvation, fear of the unknown, and now, fear of the Jedi. A lifetime of almost constant torment had ensured that Talon's every waking moment would be filled with fear and uncertainty. Because of what she was sensing through the Force, Leia now understood just how frightened Talon truly was. Leia could sense each and every one of these fears, and she knew that Talon had been given more than enough reason to have them. The question that kept coming to mind; was how to dispel those fears, so that Talon could be properly trained as a Jedi.

That was the question that was still turning over in the Jedi's mind, when she felt Talon join her in the Force. To Leia, it almost felt as if Talon's mind had expanded to engulf the entirety of the Force. It was an ample demonstration of just how strong a connection the girl had. Leia felt the girl's consciousness hover nearby for a very brief moment, before the girl's mind began to travel elsewhere within the Force. This time, Leia was in a perfect position to try to follow her.

Leia could feel the girl's mind swirling, spiraling outward as if looking for something in particular, but then without warning the girl would change directions and go to some place that was completely random. The Jedi could easily tell that there was no control, or even any attempt to choose a specific direction as she followed Talon's mind through the vast energy of the Force. For a split instant Leia was almost certain that there was a second presence with Talon, but couldn't be sure.

The Jedi quickly found that being ready to follow Talon in the Force, and being _able_ to follow Talon in the Force were two drastically different things. Like an escape pod being tossed in a cosmic storm, Talon's mind roamed from one side of the galaxy to the other, rarely stopping in one place for longer than a moment or two. Of all the places that were visited as she followed the girl, two stood out the most. Leia's heart ached with sorrow as she recognized the slowly spreading field of asteroids which were all that remained of her home world of Alderaan; then she followed Talon on a wild and breathtaking high speed flight through the towering tree tops of Endor, before returning to Corruscant to roam once more through the academy as she returned to her body. Through all of it, Leia could easily sense the curiosity burning in Talon's mind like an insatiable hunger.

Finding herself once more in the lounge, Leia couldn't believe what she'd just done. It had been irresponsible, reckless, and exceedingly dangerous; she knew that something like that should never be attempted by anyone who didn't have experience in it. She also knew without any doubt that the only reason she hadn't become lost in the Force, was because she'd followed Talon. The Jedi shuddered as a rush of fear at the possible consequences swept through her. Leia let out a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes and looked over at the girl sitting there calmly taking a sip of caf as if she'd done nothing out of the ordinary.

"Is it always like that when you. . . . do that?" Leia asked hesitantly.

Talon nodded her head as she looked up at the Jedi. "The Force shows me places I've never seen, places I might go to some day, and sometimes it shows me places that aren't there anymore." She spoke softly in a tone that told the Jedi of the girl's sense of awe at what she saw on those trips through the Force.

"Talon, I need you to promise me something." Leia said heavily as she looked at the girl.

Talon was silent for a moment. "What's promise mean?" She asked softly.

"A promise is something that you don't ever break. If you promise to do something, then you do it, even if you don't want to, and if you promise not to do something; then you don't ever do it. And right now, I need you to promise me that you won't ever show that to the other students. They won't know how to find their way back, and could become lost in the Force forever." Leia explained solemnly.

Confusion was evident in those gold glowing eyes as Talon tried to understand how someone could get lost in the Force. To her; the Force had always been a haven, a safe place where nothing could touch her or hurt her, but this Jedi was acting as if the Force could be dangerous. Talon didn't understand how that could be possible, but she did understand what the Jedi wanted from her, so she nodded her head.

"I won't show them." She said quietly.

"Thank you Talon. You can use that technique all you want in your quarters, or when you're alone, just not around the other students, okay?" Leia said compromisingly.

Talon nodded just before she drained her cup of the last bit of caf, and Leia noted that the girl didn't seem to care that it had gotten cold. The Jedi knew that some circles enjoyed iced caf, and that the beverage was even served in some of the more exclusive tap cafs, but no one she'd ever heard of enjoyed luke warm caf. It was almost too disgusting to contemplate, but then Leia considered what the girl had been raised on, and decided not to say anything.

"It's been a long and tiring day, Talon." Leia sighed as she stood up. "Come on; I'll show you back to your quarters so you can get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow so I can try to find out what other skills you might have so we can get a better idea of where to start on your training."

Talon nodded as she got up to follow the Jedi. On the way back to the girl's room, Leia noticed that most of the students were already asleep, but knew that it would be another few hours at least before she herself could even think about getting to bed. With the list of things she still needed to do running through her mind, Leia led Talon into the girl's room.

"Don't worry about any specific time to get up. There will be a set of morning bells for those that are scheduled for day time classes. If I'm not there when you do wake up; head to the cafeteria and ask one of the droids for breakfast and they'll fix something for you. Once you've eaten, I want you to wait for me in the lounge. I'll meet you there as soon as I leave the council meeting; okay." Leia instructed.

Once again, the Jedi noted that Talon wouldn't actually speak unless the answer required it, as the girl only nodded her head. Leia shook her head as she realized that this particular habit wasn't going to change any time soon.

Leis showed Talon how to remove the walking brace so she could get cleaned up in the refresher, before pointing out the door controls which would allow her to seal the room for privacy.

"You haven't been assigned a room mate, and with your environmental needs, it's not likely that anyone will be able to share these quarters with you. So, all you have to do is pick a four digit code, and enter it twice to set it."

"What numbers do I use?" Talon asked after she'd thought about it for a minute.

"I'm not sure Talon." Leia began.

Leia had started to ask if Talon had a lucky number, or date that had some meaning for her, but then realized the Talon most likely wouldn't have a clue as to what she was talking about, since the Sith Masters hadn't bothered with dates, and Talon had never played any games to have developed an affinity for any certain number.

"Most people just use a set of numbers that they can remember easily; one that they're familiar with. Do you have anything like that?" Leia asked.

"Could... Can I use the weight of my training weapons?" Talon asked hesitantly.

Leia brightened in a smile. She hadn't wanted to suggest a code number, because she was almost certain that Talon would have considered it an order.

"Sure, you can use that, if you want. But don't tell anyone else what your code is. As long as you are the only one that knows it, then no one else can get in without your permission." The Jedi instructed.

Leia avoided mentioning that she knew what Talon's weapons weighed and therefore knew the code that Talon would be using. She also knew that the council members and each of the Jedi Masters had a master override in case of emergencies. That override could also be accessed by a Knight if needed.

"Well, Talon. I know that this hasn't been a good day to start off your training as a Jedi, but I'm hoping that tomorrow will be better." Leia said kindly. _It certainly can't be much worse._ She thought.

Leia pointed diagonally across the hall. "I'll be in that room right there if you need anything, okay? I'll probably be up most of the night, so no matter what it is, if you need something just come get me. In the meantime, you have a good night, and sleep peacefully Talon." Leia said as she left and went to her own quarters.


	5. Chapter 5

SW5

Talon watched as the Jedi left and went into her own room. As the door closed, Talon turned back into the room she'd been given and looked around. To anyone else, it wouldn't have seemed like much. The bed was pretty typical for military issue, and therefore wasn't quite as hard as the bare ground on most worlds, but was still much softer than Talon was accustomed too. There was a small workstation in one corner that would also serve as a desk or table if needed for that purpose. The light grey carpeting was soft under her feet. A vast difference from the cold stone floors of the Sith Academy on Korriban.

Talon's attention was drawn once more to the window, and as she stepped away from the door to her room it slid shut with a hiss of pneumatic pistons. Walking over to gaze out the window, Talon could see countless numbers of lights in the numerous spires where people were still working.

Even in the darkest hours of the night, the planet wide city of Corruscant could never be considered dark. As the central planet to a galaxy spanning government, there were always thousands of treaties, contracts, and negotiations being conducted. It was a world that could never sleep, and never did. The countless numbers of diplomats and politicians on Corruscant rarely got the amount of rest that their bodies required, and so they often ended up taking years off their political career, if not their lives by mostly doing without.

Talon knew nothing about any of this as she gazed out the window of her room. If she'd been told of the nearly infinite political maneuvers and machinations that were going on behind the lights that she could see, she would have stared stupidly at the person telling her. She would neither have known nor cared why anyone would be willing to argue and even fight over something that they could never feel, touch, or hold in their hands. The abstract and arbitrary political power would never mean anything to her.

Even in the so called dead of night, hundreds of speeders flitted back and forth in the skies. Some close enough that she could almost make out the driver, others so distant, that all she could see was a streak of lights moving back and forth. Even now, she could sense the jumble of thoughts and emotions that were coming from the minds of more people than she had ever dreamed could ever exist.

Completely captivated by the sheer number of minds and lives in the world beyond her window, Talon stood there staring thoughtlessly out the window for more than an hour before she finally shook her head and with an effort pulled her own thoughts together. A single touch on the control panel next to the window closed the rotating blinds to block out the lights coming in.

After finally stepping away from the window, Talon took her lightsabers and laid them neatly on the workstation, along with her optical filter. Then she got undressed, turned out the lights and looked longingly the bed that was larger, softer, and more luxuriantly comfortable than anything she had ever slept on before.

The sheets, blankets, and pillows still smelled faintly of the cleanser that had been used to sanitize them. A light woodsy scent to begin with, it had faded since the time that the bedding had been cleaned and Talon couldn't identify it; having never been exposed to any type of forest. Since she hadn't been given permission to sleep on the bed, she curled up next to it on the floor. Knowing that there was no one anywhere even close to her, Talon closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Talon lay there for a long while; trying to get to sleep the entire time; which was very difficult considering that her hands were starting to shake just a bit. She was, for the first time in her life restless and unable to sleep for some reason. After what seemed like hours, she finally sat up next to her bed and tried to figure out why she couldn't sleep. She knew that normally by bedtime, she was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open and was so exhausted that she could barely move.

'_That's the reason!'_ She thought suddenly. She hadn't had even a single workout today; forget about all three of the four hour training sessions that she usually had. No wonder she couldn't sleep. Normally Talon would have had to use the Force several times during the day to replenish both her strength and her endurance, but today, she hadn't even thought of needing to use the Force for that purpose.

Deciding that she needed to work off some energy so she could sleep; Talon got off of the floor and got dressed. She donned a fresh set of clothes and saw that the legging would fit over the cast and that the brace for her leg would go over that. She made a mental note to find out how to get her first set of clothing repaired. She set the controls to the thermal units on her belt to a comfortable temperature for a workout, before attaching her lightsabers to the belt's hooks. Then Talon put her ocular filter on, and headed towards the door.

A brief, but swift wave of Force power brought her two massively heavy training weapons to her hands. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Talon was out the door and heading to the training room.

Immediately upon entering the training room, Talon lowered the lights to the setting that she had used in her own quarters. Then she quickly reset the temperature controls to a lower setting that would still be what she considered hot, but wouldn't make her feel like passing out. Talon intended for this to be one training session, which would put anything and everything her Sith Masters had come up with to shame.

Once the environment was set to her liking, Talon stripped down, reapplied her brace, and began a warm up with the Whirlus form. She started with several simple katas, and began working her way up from there. Within ten minutes, Talon was whipping those massive one ton rods through the air fast enough to make them whistle and sing to her. At that point Talon knew that she was ready to begin her workout in earnest.

Looking over at the rack against the wall that contained two hundred training remotes, Talon used the Force to summon sixty of them to her. She set the first one for immediate engagement and each of the others for thirty second delays, so that the final remote would begin attacking her at the end of the first half hour.

For the first time in her life, Talon actually smiled. She was smiling in anticipation, because also for the first time in her life, she would be finally able to find out just how far her skills had come. This time, in this place, there were no Masters present to be envious of her superior skills. No Masters present to be humiliated by a mere student with no right to a lightsaber. No Masters present to force her into holding back so she wouldn't be punished for being better than they were. This time, she could truly do her best, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

Already a light sheen of sweat coated her body as she summoned a single hilt lightsaber to her hand. Taking up a classic and basic stance in the Shii Cho form, Talon planned to start with the basics. Igniting her lightsaber, she reacted quickly to the remote which began to circle in random directions seeking an opening.

Talon stood there, completely motionless except for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. The very image of perfect composure, her rock steady stance belied the eager excitement roiling within. With the first shot from the remote Talon's wrists blurred into action to allow the blast to be harmlessly absorbed by her lightsaber. She had deliberately set the remotes to a low power setting so that she wouldn't accidentally disable them by deflecting their shots back at them.

By the time the fifth shot had been fired and absorbed, the second remote was joining the fray. Talon still remained almost motionless except for her arms which were wielding the deadly lightsaber with such ease that each and every move was fluid like and graceful. With her weight centered on the balls of her feet, Talon didn't intend to move any other part of her body until the remotes were able to force her into it. Designed to target a trainee in unison, the remotes linked their attack patterns to work as a team against their opponent.

Faster and faster her arms and wrists reacted to the incoming shots. The red blade of her lightsaber humming and snapping around angrily to easily absorb each and every bolt of energy. With six of the remotes now circling her at different heights and in opposing directions, Talon had finally been forced to sidestep one of the shots. Still, the girl smiled in satisfaction as the seventh remote entered the fight.

For the next two and a half minutes, Talon had become a whirling dervish protected by a slashing red shield that seemed to sing triumphantly with each shot that was defeated. It was when the twelfth remote had activated that it happened. It was something that Talon had never seen or encountered before. All twelve of the remotes rose to the same height and fired at the exact same angle from various positions around her. Dropping to the floor on her back with her lightsaber pointing straight up Talon watched in pure disbelief as all twelve shots hit her blade at the same time.

Talon nearly grinned in delight even as she rolled to her feet. She'd never been allowed to actually cut loose like this before, and she was really starting to enjoy it. Her blade now in constant motion, Talon was switching it back and forth between her right and left hands, to force the remotes to keep readjusting their attack patterns.

Her breath was coming faster as she now faced more than twenty remotes. She wasn't exactly sure how many were circling her, because she was now totally focused on both the form she was using, and where the shots would be aimed next. Although she had started with the Shii Cho or first form, Talon had rapidly moved on to Soresu, and then Makashi.

She knew that she was taking them out of order, but she was doing this deliberately. She wanted to save the hardest form for last. With more of the remotes now arrayed against her, Talon methodically moved through the Djem So or fifth form, before practicing form six; Niman.

Just as the final remote joined the battle, Talon summoned her second single hilt lightsaber to her left hand, and picked up her pace still further. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps and she was drenched in sweat. Her muscles burned from the intensity of her efforts. All the same, this was the first time that Talon had ever enjoyed herself during her entire life.

Although she had yet to be hit by a single shot, there had been many beyond count that had gotten close, but close wasn't nearly good enough. Her teeth bared in a wide grin of pure joy, Talon moved into the seventh and last of the standard forms of lightsaber combat. She had deliberately saved this one for last, because she knew that it would prove to be her toughest challenge yet.

Form seven known as Ataru had one glaring and well known weakness. It was a weakness that was obvious to anyone who had ever studied or practiced the form. It was considered almost completely worthless against blasters!

With both of her lightsabers whirling about in her hands, they would appear to be solid sheets of energy to anyone who was watching. Leaping, rolling, and moving with a speed that only the use of the Force could impart, Talon was now taking the fight to the remotes.

More than a year and a half ago, Talon had inadvertently discovered a way of getting around that single infamous weakness of Ataru, by actively attacking the shots themselves. While this principle involved a completely different mindset, and use of tactics, than would normally be used, it also proved to be highly effective. There was only one major drawback, and that was that the shots couldn't be deflected back at the source. That one small flaw made little difference to Talon while she was fighting these remotes, since doing so would have disabled the remotes; which was what she didn't want.

With sweat now pouring off of her, Talon increased her efforts to her absolute best. So intense was her concentration that she never noticed the twinges of pain circulating through her injured leg. Every move was now a blur of Force enhanced speed that was painful to watch as the eyes of any observer would be straining to keep up. For more than ten minutes, Talon pushed herself at her absolute best, before she rolled out of range and deactivated her lightsabers. Once she had disengaged from immediate combat and deactivated her lightsabers, the remotes went into standby mode, to await another opponent with an activated weapon.

For more than a full minute Talon stood hunched over, hands braced on her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath. Never before had she pushed herself as hard as she had during this session, and never before had she actually enjoyed anything. Tonight, she had enjoyed this. In her mind, she wasn't challenging remotes, but rather her level of skill. Pushing herself for once to see what she was really and truly capable of.

When she finally caught her breath, Talon used the Force to place both of her lightsabers next to her clothes, then she summoned her massively heavy training weapons to her hands. Taking up the initial stance of the Whirlus form, Talon used the Force to pull a dozen of the remotes around her. Within less than a second, a new round was started.

Like Ataru, Whirlus was also weak against multiple opponents with blasters. Talon knew this, just as she knew that changing her mindset while using Whirlus wouldn't help. There were only so many ways in which two weapons that large could be used synchronously. But, Talon also knew that where one gained a weakness, one also gained an advantage. It only had to be recognized. Against any opponent or even a group of opponents wielding a bladed weapon, the Whirlus form would prove to be more than devastating.

Talon knew that the form was far from complete. There were many refinements, techniques, and principals that she knew that needed to be worked out, but she'd never been given the free time to do so. Now that she was alone, with no one to bother her or insist that she fight using methods that they chose, she could now work on those sorely needed techniques.

Talon had been at it for just over ten minutes, and had come up with one combination that she thought would work, but would have to practice and refine it when she wasn't faced with a living opponent. Deciding that it would be best tried in combat against the remotes; she was about to actually attempt the untried move when she heard the door to the training room hiss open. To her credit, Talon reacted exactly as she'd been trained. There wasn't the slightest hesitation or pause in her defense or her assault on the remotes. If anything, Talon increased her attention on the remotes, just enough to begin tapping each one with the end of her weapons. As it was struck, each remote acted according to its designed programming and disengaged from its opponent; having been 'defeated'.

At 1,000 kilograms apiece, Talon's weapons could have easily shattered the remotes, and during her early training sessions with them, she often had, only to be severely punished for 'wasting resources'. In Talon's now expert hands however; the large and unwieldy weapons were being used with skill and precision. Once she had struck and therefore defeated the last of the remotes, Talon turned to face the person who had entered.

Talon found herself looking at a Jedi that had to be only a few years older than she was. He was slightly shorter than most males and of average build, so the only thing that really stood out about him was the red color of his hair. While not quite as red as the blades of her lightsabers, there was definitely more red in the young man's hair than Talon had ever seen before.

"Nice moves! I've never seen a double staff technique before. Any particular reason for practicing in the dark?" The Jedi asked in a tone of admiration.

"The light out there is too bright and hurts my eyes." Talon answered plainly.

"Oh, okay. I'm Ben, by the way." He said introducing himself.

"I'm called Talon." She answered as she placed her training weapons down by her clothes.

"Nice to meet you Talon. Since we're here how bout a sparring match?" Ben asked pleasantly as he pulled out his lightsaber.

"What form?" Talon asked.

"Tell you what. How bout you decide?" Ben responded amiably.

Remembering the incident earlier with the highly aggressive Ataru form, Talon thought that it would be best if a more defensive form were chosen this time.

"Soresu." Talon said simply as she summoned one of her single hilt lightsabers to her hand.

"Sounds good to me. Perfect form to start with against an unknown opponent." Ben said with a smile as he activated his lightsaber.

The brilliant blue blade flashed into existence with a snapping hum as Ben took up a type one stance with his lightsaber held in both hands at his right side pointing straight up. Talon adopted a neutral stance and activated her own blade with it angled slightly downwards and to her left.

Ben Skywalker's smile disappeared and he felt his blood run cold at the sight of the obviously Sith weapon. Directing his attention from the color of the blade in the girl's hands to the softly glowing amber colored eyes, Ben knew, just _knew_ that the person holding that weapon was still a Sith. Memories of being tortured by both his cousin Jacen, and later his apprentice Tahira, along with everything he and his father had encountered during the last two years flashed through the young man's mind in an instant as he reacted to the presence of an enemy.

His agreement to stick to the Soresu form completely forgotten, Ben used the Force to leap forward and press his attack. Using a deadly downward flowing cross body slash to his left that was aided by his weight and speed as he came down from his jump, Ben attempted to finish the Sith off quickly. Instead of killing his opponent however, his strike was harmlessly deflected as Talon stood her ground and angled her blade to cause her assailant's weapon to slide down its length to her right.

Talon frowned as soon as the Jedi had made his leaping attack. It wasn't that he'd lied about sticking to Soresu that disturbed her, but rather the wild and dangerous attack that she could have easily countered in a dismembering or even fatal way. Deciding to deflect the attack instead had been an almost natural reaction, because of the number of times that her own Sith Masters had pulled such moves against her.

Unlike her attacker, Talon kept her end of the agreed upon method and stuck to Soresu. Easily blocking the rapid flurry of strikes that were obviously intended to kill or at the very least maim. She could feel the Jedi's rage flowing from his mind, but had no idea what had caused him to get so angry in the first place.

Ben's initial anger upon seeing the Sith in the very heart of the New Jedi Order was quickly fading. Switching from Ataru to Juyo hadn't helped him any either. Every strike, each slash, and every thrust was quickly deflected or blocked outright by the Sith with an absolute minimum of effort. Realizing that his anger was clouding his judgment, and affecting his ability to effectively fight, Ben began to focus himself.

Ben was still angry about the fact that there was a Sith right here in the main temple of the Jedi, but he also knew that something was off about this whole situation. It was his experience as a GAG officer that made him suspicious when the Sith he was fighting hadn't yet launched even a single attack against him even though he _knew_ that there had been several opportunities to do so.

Talon was surprised when the Jedi suddenly stepped back and shut down his lightsaber. Certain that it was a trick that she hadn't encountered before, Talon lowered her own weapon and deactivated it but stayed ready for another attack just in case.

Ben just stood there, while he struggled with his anger. He knew that he wasn't a hothead, and had never been one to fly out of control like that before, not even with his cousin who'd brutally murdered his mother. But then, he'd never expected to find a Sith running around loose in here of all places, and that had caught him off guard. He was about to demand to know what she was doing here, when the doors hissed open and Master Katarn came rushing in.

ooo000ooo

He'd been sitting alone in the darkness for the past two hours, replaying the same security vid over and over. Sometimes he played it at normal speed, but mostly it was in very slow motion as he slowed the playback down to a near crawl. Zooming in on exactly what he wanted to see, Kyle could clearly see that each and every attack that the girl had made was directed against one thing; the blade of his lightsaber.

No matter how many times he'd watched the vid, it didn't do anything to ease the guilt he felt over injuring someone that hadn't deserved it. Even though when played at normal speed, just watching the vid made his heart pound in his chest as he recalled just how it had felt to be on the receiving end of those lightning swift strikes; he still regretted what he'd inadvertently done.

He hadn't meant to hurt the girl, and he certainly hadn't intended to break her leg as badly as he had. It didn't matter that Cilghal had told him how fragile the girl's bone structure was; Kyle Katarn still blamed himself for the injury. In retrospect, he knew that it all could have been avoided by just a few more questions. Questions that he hadn't asked, questions that he knew he should have asked.

He wasn't wallowing in self pity, guilt, or regret; instead, he was doing what he knew any responsible Jedi Master should do; learn from one's mistakes. So he sat there in the darkened observation room above the very training arena where earlier that day, he'd injured a student.

Master Katarn hadn't noticed as Talon had entered the training room, but when the light stopped coming in through the observation windows, he looked out in curiosity. With the dim lighting and the distance, Kyle couldn't make out all the details of what the girl was doing, until she started her workout.

Kyle had stared in rapt attention as Talon whipped those heavy rods around in the patterns of the Whirlus form. He couldn't actually see the rods themselves because of the low light level, but he could tell That Talon had something in her hands from the way she was moving.

Kyle had continued to watch with interest as Talon completed her warm up, and began using a lightsaber. He easily recognized the Shii Cho form; known to be the basics of lightsaber combat, and was taught to every student to enter the academy.

By the time that the girl had finally ignited her second lightsaber, Kyle was simply staring in dumbfounded shock as he watched the single most dazzling display of saber skills that he'd ever heard of. He knew beyond any doubt that he was now a witness to a level of skill that no one in the order had ever dreamed was possible. He couldn't be sure exactly how many remotes were actually in play down there, but it had to be at least twice what he'd ever seen Luke practice against!

Unable to truly believe what he was watching, Master Katarn continued to stare in muted wonder, at what he knew, just _knew_ was impossible. Kyle knew without thinking about it, that Talon was using Ataru against those remotes. He also knew that what the _child_ down there was doing was so far beyond his skills, that it was frightening to watch.

Master Katarn could help but smile when Talon suddenly darted away from the remotes to disengage from the battle. He watched in silent admiration as Talon bent over to catch her breath. He'd almost gone down there to congratulate the girl, but refrained out of curiosity to see what she'd do next.

When he saw the dim lighting gleam on the metal rods once more, Kyle leaned forward and watched intently. As soon as she began moving Kyle lost track of the weapons, but knew that they were still in play because not one shot from the now much smaller group of remotes got through to hit the girl.

The Jedi Master shook his head as he thought about just how many hours of intense and dedicated training must have gone into learning that kind of skill. Kyle suddenly looked up with interest as someone else entered the training room. He recognized the voice of Luke's son as the two began talking to one another. He had frowned in consternation as the two faced off against one another, but as soon as Talon activated her weapon, Kyle knew he had to get down there.

"Hold it Ben! It's not what you think." Kyle nearly shouted as he burst into the training room expecting to still see the two of them going at it.

"Yeah; I kind of figured that out for myself, when she didn't slice me to ribbons." Ben responded as he turned to face the Jedi Master.

"Don't feel too bad. You're not the only one to overreact with her." Kyle told him ruefully.

"So, she surprised you too huh?" Ben asked him.

"Yeah. Except that you at least figured things out before making the same mistake I did." Kyle told him heavily.

"Really? What mistake was that?" Ben asked interestedly.

"I ended up breaking her leg this morning." Kyle answered in a tone of regret.

Ben Skywalker whirled around to take a good look at the girl he'd attacked just a few short moments ago. Now that his eyes were finally adjusting to the dim lights, and not blinded by lightsaber blades he quickly noted both the cast and brace on the girl's left leg even as he noticed something else.

Ben spun around and put his back to the girl in an exasperated huff, as he tried to wrap his disbelieving mind around what he'd just seen.

"_Why isn't she wearing any clothes_?" Ben finally exploded in disbelief.

"_What_!" Kyle demanded before he too saw that it was indeed the case.

Master Katarn quickly turned around and ran a hand across his beard in stunned surprise.

"Talon; you _really_ need to get dressed." Kyle told her as calmly as he could muster.

Talon watched the two Jedi stand there with their backs to her. She could sense some type of emotion from both of them that was almost like humiliation, but not quite. She kept a curious eye on them as she sat down removed her brace and got dressed. Then she put her brace back on along with her boots, before gathering her weapons.

Talon wasn't sure why the Jedi still hadn't turned back around as she was putting her weapons back on her belt before summoning her training weapons to her hands. Then she realized that they were waiting for something.

"I'm dressed now." Talon said quietly as she looked down at the floor.

Both Jedi hesitantly looked over their shoulders to verify that Talon was fully clothed before they turned to face her.

"Good. Now why don't you tell me why you decided to disobey Cilghal's instructions against saber training?" Kyle asked lightly. "Are you trying to end up in a bacta tank?"

Talon shook her head to answer the second question hoping that she wouldn't have to answer the first one.

Kyle raised his eye brows and looked at Talon questioningly. "You don't want to tell me why you disobeyed Cilghal's instructions, or you don't want to end up in a bacta tank?"

"I don't want to go in the bacta tank." Talon answered softly never taking her eyes off the floor.

"Look. I admire your dedication, and I wish all of our students were even half that diligent, but sneaking in here like this isn't going to get you anything but trouble, and if Cilghal had been the one to catch you; she'd probably be stuffing you in that bacta tank right now. So, why did you do it?" Kyle asked bluntly.

"I... I tried... I couldn't get... Get to sleep. I was trying to get tired." She stammered knowing that she deserved whatever punishment was coming, and fearful of what it would be.

Master Katarn sighed heavily as he ran a hand across his beard while trying to think. He didn't need to reach out with the Force to sense the tension in the girl in front of him. From his earlier encounters with her, Kyle knew that Talon had been heavily traumatized by her Sith instructors who were obviously cruel with few if any morals and he had the nasty suspicion that Talon fully expected him to be just as cruel. Kyle suddenly realized that this was an excellent opportunity to get to know more about this young Sith and allow her to learn a few things about the Jedi, but that the training arena was no place for such a discussion.

"Tell you what. Why don't we all head over to the lounge where we can talk more comfortably." Master Katarn suggested amicably. "I want you there as well, Ben. I could use your insight on some of this."

Ben shrugged while never taking his eyes off of Talon. He was almost sure that this had to be the Sith his father had warned him about, and given the saber skills he'd witnessed, along with the impenetrable defense that she'd put up against his best attacks; Ben could easily understand why his dad had been alerted to her presence. What he wanted to find out now was; how had she gone from being considered a threat to being a student.

"Sounds fine to me. Because I'd like to find out how a kid like her ended up with moves like that." Ben stated with a speculative glance at Talon.

"Well, if you think that was impressive, you should have seen what she was doing before you walked in. Now I know why your dad wants to take some lessons from her." Kyle chuckled as he led them out of the training room.

Ben stopped dead in his tracks just in front of the door staring at the Jedi Master in surprise.

"You're kidding me; right?" He asked skeptically.

"Nope! Not one bit. He admitted it to me this morning while she was being treated for a compound fracture. This kid's apparently got some saber skills that no one's ever heard of before. Oh, and just remember to go easy on her. This isn't an interrogation, and I don't want to turn it into one. I just want to find out more about her, and see if she's got any other surprises in store for us." Kyle said as he turned and looked Ben in the eye to make sure the young man understood.

"You mean like how many other Sith we can expect to find?" Ben asked interestedly as they resumed making their way to the lounge.

"Actually, from what I've heard that's one thing we don't have to worry about. I haven't been told exactly what happened, but apparently she's the only one who managed to survive whatever it was." Kyle answered easily.

"Just how reliable is the source of that information? Can we be absolutely positive that she was the only survivor? How do we know that someone else didn't make it?" Ben questioned instantly.

Kyle just had to chuckle at just how fast Ben was turning the various angles over in his mind. "Well, as to the source; that would be your aunt Leia. She apparently got the information straight out of Talon's mind through the Force. From what I gathered, she must have done a pretty good job of checking out Talon's story; before deciding to bring her here. I mean this _is_ Leia we're talking about. She can pick up on a lie from half a system away."

Even as strange as the situation was, Ben had to snicker at that. "True. She's not one that's easily fooled. But still; what do we really know about her?" He said indicating the far too silent subject of their discussion with a nod of his head.

"Well, your aunt did make one comment that had some really disturbing implications. I mean; when you can tell someone that you were forced to run and fight for your life, get poisoned, get your leg broken, have someone threaten to kill you, and then turn around and say that's the best day of your life? It makes you wonder just what kind of horror stories are locked away inside that head of hers." Kyle said as he chose a table near the serving station. He spun the chair around and sat down with his arms crossed on the back of the chair.

Ben stared at the older Jedi for a moment after he sat down facing the man before he turned to look over at Talon who was climbing into her own chair after placing her long staves on the floor.

"Is that true? Did you have to fight for your life?" Ben asked her finally.

Talon only nodded her head while looking down at the table, before placing her shaking hands in her lap.

"Really? So who was it that you were fighting against?" Kyle asked interestedly.

"The Guardians." Talon answered in a barely audible whisper.

"The guardians? Who are they?" Kyle asked quickly.

"Master Leia called them. . . Trent a tech?" Talon responded with a bit of hesitation.

"_Leia's not a Master."_ Ben thought instantly with no small amount of surprise.

"Wait… do you mean… tarentatek?" Kyle asked doubtfully in the same instant.

Both Jedi turned to gape at one another as Talon nodded slightly.

"Ja… I was told that they were only a legend." Ben said catching himself before he could finish mentioning his late cousin as the source of that information.

"Real, but extinct from one of the reports I've read." Kyle replied softly.

Both Jedi turned to look back at the girl who was still staring at the table as if she were waiting for one of them to jump up and do something horrible to her. Both of them could easily sense the worry and fear surrounding her, even without reaching out through the Force. As he observed her; Kyle suddenly remembered the most disturbing part of the morning's incident, and realized that she did expect them to do something horrible to her. Suddenly the Jedi Master grinned as he got an idea that just might help him gain at least a small amount of the girl's trust.

"Hey, Talon. I want you to look at me for a second." Kyle instructed gently.

"Look, you snuck into the training arena to do something you were told not to do. But, you weren't hurt and neither was anyone else, right? So I don't think there's any reason to tell Cilghal about this. What do you think Ben?" Kyle asked as he turned and gave the former investigator a sly wink.

Ben caught on fast as he realized that Kyle was planning on using the long and bloody history of enmity between both the Sith and the Jedi as the 'bad cop' while he and Kyle used a little kindness to portray the 'good cops' to gain both trust and information out of the subject.

"Hey. You know what they say. 'No harm; no foul.' And what Cilghal doesn't know, won't bother her." Ben answered easily.

Talon looked up from the table to gape at both Jedi; her mouth hanging open in pure shock. Back on Korriban, such a conspiracy would have been unthinkable; with all of the participants getting punished, because the Masters had _always_ found out when instructions or rules had been broken.

"You... You're not going to punish me?" She finally stammered in disbelief.

"What for? Like I said, no one got hurt, so why bother with it?" Kyle answered with a slight grin.

Talon slid from her chair and began backing away from both of the Jedi with a look of pure horror on her face.

"But... But, they'll find out and they'll kill you… They'll kill me too for going along with it… I... I don't want... don't want to die." Talon stammered while shaking her head at the two Jedi still sitting at the table.

'_Blast! So much for that idea! Apparently, these Sith who raised her were a lot worse than even the meanest of Hutts.'_ Kyle thought disgustedly as he realized that his idea had backfired on him.

Ben sat there, speechless as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Normally, a bit of kindness or generosity went a long way with a fearful subject during any type of interrogation, but somehow this whole mess had just taken a turn straight for the maw and right into a black hole.

"Nothing like that is going to happen, so come sit back down!" Kyle snapped irritatedly.

"Look; just listen to me for a minute here." Kyle told her firmly when he saw her mouth working soundlessly to try forming a reply.

"I am a full Master at this academy, and a member of the Jedi Council. As the Master who first discovered the indiscretion; it is solely up to me whether or not I want to have you punished, and to decide what I want that punishment to be. Now if it will make you feel any better; then I'll tell Cilghal what happened and if she thinks that someone needs to be punished, then she can punish me instead, okay?" Kyle told the girl sincerely.

Talon blinked as she stared at the Jedi before she closed her mouth to try swallowing the lump in her throat. Punishment for disobedience she could handle, even if she would be miserable for the next few weeks, but even _planning_ to conceal the disobedience would bring a type of punishment that Talon didn't even want to think about. As much as Talon wanted to avoid all punishments; she knew that as painful as it would turn out to be; she'd rather be punished by both Leia and Cilghal for disobedience than be punished for disobedience and then again for attempting to conceal it.

Having resolved to inform both of her Jedi Masters herself at the earliest opportunity took a lot of pressure off her mind, and though she was still worried about what these two Jedi were trying to do; Talon followed the instructions she'd just been given and sat down once again.

Once Talon had climbed back into the chair, she put her hands in her lap and looked down at the table. She was just beginning to wonder just how bad the punishment was going to be, when she suddenly realized something.

'_Master Leia never punished me for disobeying her earlier! I know she couldn't have forgotten about it, and now she has something else to punish me for.'_ Talon thought miserably as her hands started to shake all over again.

"Why? No! _What_ makes you think that you'd be killed for something like that? I mean sure; you might get cleaning detail for a pretty good while, but _death_? Come on! I don't know of _anyone_ that strict!" Ben commented in surprise.

"Actually I'm pretty sure her Sith instructors _were_ that strict, Ben. From what happened and what was said this morning; she's apparently seen someone get killed because it would have been too much trouble to mend a broken limb. I've heard people beg for their lives before; but never over something like that, and let me tell you; it _wasn't_ easy to listen to." Kyle said as he recalled the sheer desperation in the girl's pleading.

Ben shook his head. He was unable to imagine ever becoming anything like that, but then; he also knew that it only took a series of small slips to begin a complete plunge that would end up deep in the insanity of the dark side.

"Look Talon. Why don't you name one good reason why we would want to kill you." Ben told her while trying a different tactic; hoping that reasoning might work instead.

"Be... Because you're Jedi and I'm a Sith." Talon answered simply as she put her head in her shaking hands.

Seeing the shaking hands; both Jedi figured that Talon was far more frightened than she was letting on.

Ben snorted in dismissal when he heard the girl's answer.

"So? Considering that my mom was a Sith; you're going to have to do better than that. She was once the Emperor's Hand. One of his best assassins as a matter of fact, and she joined the Jedi and was a Master for years before she died. My grandfather was a Sith Lord. Maybe you've heard of him; Darth Vader?" Ben replied easily as he motioned for the server droid.

Talon put her hands on the table as she looked up at the younger of the two Jedi for an instant before she nodded her head.

"I know about Lord Vader and Lord Sidious. They were killed by a Jedi." Talon answered softly.

"Where in the stang did you hear _that_?" Ben nearly exploded in disbelief.

Talon looked as if she'd been struck. "It's what our Master; Darth Magus taught us in the histories of the Sith."

"Well this Darth Magus was lying to you! Sidious or Palpatine; whatever you want to call him; was killed by Vader who was trying to save the Jedi who was there. But Sidious got in a few good shots with Force lightning before he died and that's what ended up killing Vader." Ben retorted with a shake of his head.

Talon could sense the truth of the young Jedi's words, and the total sincerity in them. She knew that someone had to be lying; because there was no way that both stories could be true. She knew that her Sith Masters had often lied about many things, especially when it concerned the level of their saber skills, but how was she going to be able to determine if these Jedi were actually telling the truth?

Talon had no idea how she was supposed to figure out what the truth actually was; especially when it was becoming so hard to think. Even though she couldn't see them; she could feel the thoughts and emotions of countless minds impinging on her own. It was a drastic difference from Korriban where there hadn't been anywhere near this level of pure chaos within the Force. On top of everything she was sensing; there was something really strange starting to happen to her. She could literally feel her heart racing and pounding in her chest as if she were still in the midst of one of her training sessions. She knew that something was wrong with her, but with all the background noise in her mind; she couldn't think well enough to try figuring out what it was.

"Talon? Do you want something to eat and drink, or not?" Kyle asked her for the third time, giving her an intense look.

Talon nodded her head in answer even though she wasn't actually that hungry at the moment; she certainly wasn't going to turn down something to eat after a lifetime of being hungry. She saw that both Jedi were looking at her as if they were waiting for her to say something.

"Well; what do you want?" Ben finally asked her.

Talon looked up as she tried to remember what they had called the food she had eaten earlier.

"Easy there, Ben. She's not familiar with regular food. So we'll need to choose something for her." Kyle said lightly while keeping an eye on the girl.

"Could I have some caf?" Talon finally asked softly.

"Caf? I thought you wanted to be able to get some sleep. And when did you start drinking caf anyway?" Master Katarn asked interestedly.

"Master Leia gave me some when she was showing me how to eat properly." Talon answered quietly.

"You tried caf earlier tonight?" Kyle immediately asked her quickly.

Ben snickered when Talon nodded her head.

"And just how many cups of caf did you drink?" Kyle asked giving Talon a suspicious look.

"Six." Talon answered simply.

"Six? Raise your arm for a second." Ben instructed her as he reached forward and felt her ribs near her heart. He was silent for a second or two as her felt the girl's heart pounding away hard enough for him to feel it from the side.

Ben shook his head as he pulled his hand away from the girl. "She's got one major case of the caffeine jitters!" Ben said as he turned to face Kyle.

"Her heart is pounding at hyper speed. No wonder she can't get to sleep. On six cups of caf; I wouldn't be able to sleep either! What was she thinking? Giving a kid that young caf at all." Ben muttered in exasperation.

"Hey don't be too hard on her; as I recall, you were about Talon's age when you started working with the Galactic Alliance Guard." Kyle chided the young man.

"You're telling me this kid's thirteen? No way! Maybe nine; if that old." Ben exclaimed in disbelief.

"Sorry. But I distinctly heard your dad say thirteen years old. As for her size; well, that just goes to prove that a lifetime of starvation will stunt your growth. Speaking of which. . ." Kyle turned his attention to the waiting server droid.

"Bring us three sandwiches, two Tarisian ales, a large glass of blue milk, and one half cup of fermented juma juice." Kyle ordered.

"_Fermented_ juma juice? What; are you planning on sedating Lobacca or something? Besides, I didn't even know we had that stuff here." Ben said as he gave the Jedi Master a disbelieving look while the droid trundled off.

"Just a little something to counteract all that caffeine in her system, and no; I'm not planning on knocking her out! That's why I only ordered a half cup and not a mug, and before you even _think_ of trying to get your hands on some; that's been voice coded so that only a Master can order it. That means your aunt won't even be able to order it here." Kyle replied with a grin.

"That makes sense. It proves the Order doesn't play favorites. Even though she's more than old enough, and has proven her ability to handle responsibility; she's still only a Knight like me." Ben said nodding thoughtfully.

"Exactly. And believe it or not, she was one of those who insisted that no favorites be played, regardless, of age or political rank." Kyle replied.

The Jedi Master grinned inwardly at the sudden change of tactics that Ben had adopted. Knowing the former G.A.G. officer was deliberately making it seem as if the two of them were more interested in their own conversation to pay much attention to the girl that both wanted to question. It was an interesting method that looked as if it might work; judging by the way the girl sitting to his right was acting. Even though Kyle was looking at Ben and talking with the young Knight, his attention was mainly focused on Talon. The girl was sitting with a nearly blank expression on her face, as if she were being distracted by something.

Kyle and Ben were still discussing the various privileges that were reserved for the rank of Master when the droid returned with their order. Ben quickly reached out and took the small tray and passed out the drinks and plates; since the droid had rolled up right next to him. Then he took a look at his ale.

The tall mug still had a slight coating of frost on it, and the dark aromatic beverage contained inside had a rich foamy head that was a perfect three centimeters thick. Taking his first sip of the rich and fragrant ale, Ben sighed and licked his lips in appreciation. After a long day, there was little better than a good refreshing drink to help wind things down.

Kyle chuckled and shook his head with a grin. He'd seen more than a few pilots react the same way upon getting their first drink after a long run, and it was still somewhat hard for him to believe that Ben acted like someone closer to his own age instead of a mere nineteen.

"That good, huh?" Kyle asked still grinning.

"Let's just say that it's been a long week." Ben answered tiredly.

"I know what you mean." Kyle responded as he noticed that Talon hadn't touched her food or either of the drinks.

"Talon, aren't you going to eat? Why don't you drink this first, but go slow with it; it's pretty strong stuff." Kyle instructed turning his focus to the girl as he slid the cup intoxicating beverage towards her.

Talon shook her head slightly; trying to clear the invading thoughts and emotions from her mind. It wasn't that they were getting louder, or stronger; rather it was that as her mind grew tired, she was finding more difficult to ignore what she was constantly sensing through the Force. To her, it was like being in a very crowded and extremely noisy room, except that all the noise was in her mind instead of her ears.

Talon looked down at the cup that was being offered to her and examined it. There was a very strong sweet odor coming from the red colored stuff in the cup. She didn't know what it was, but it was in a much smaller version of the same type of cup that she'd drank the caf from that Leia had offered her, so she decided to go ahead and try it; especially since she'd also been told to do so. She picked up the strange looking cup and cautiously took a small sip.

The first sip startled the girl enough that she completely forgot about the jumbled confusion going on in her mind. Shockingly strong and sweet, this stuff had none of the rich flavor of the Bantha milk she'd had earlier. Instead, there was a powerful sweet flavor that seemed to demand that she drink more. Talon swallowed that first sip and started to take another when she stopped in surprise.

Talon's mouth dropped open, and she stared at the stuff in disbelief. Even though the stuff she was drinking was cold, she could feel it somehow warming her insides as it went down. That was strange; it was a curious feeling to have her insides getting warmed up like that. At least it didn't make her head hurt the way that one kind of food had. Deciding that she wanted to be warm all over; inside and out; Talon downed the rest of it in a single gulp.

Kyle was watching Talon out of pure curiosity to see what she would do with the intoxicating drink. He wasn't the least bit surprised by the startled look on the girl's face when she swallowed that first sip, but the Jedi Master nearly choked as he gaped in astonishment when the girl downed the rest all at once. When the girl set the miniature cup down it was empty.

"Blazes! I could have sworn that I said to go slow with that." Kyle muttered mostly to himself as he stared at the now empty cup.

The two Jedi turned to look at each other in shock at just how readily Talon had downed the stiff drink with barely a hitch in her breathing. Suddenly Ben was giving the girl a sidelong glance as he slid his ale farther away from her.

Kyle noticed Ben's move, and couldn't really blame the young man. After all, regular juma juice was intoxicating enough, but once fermented, a mere liter would put even the biggest rancor under the table.

Both Jedi were sitting there wondering whether or not they'd have to defend their own drinks when a disturbingly loud growl began to emerge from Talon's position.

"Please tell me she's not a mean drunk, because I already know she can beat me." Ben muttered hopefully.

"You know she can beat you, and _I_ know she can beat both of us put together! But I don't think we have anything to worry about just yet; because that was her stomach, and if you think that was loud; you should have heard her in the infirmary earlier. She can get loud enough to put a Wookie to shame." Kyle answered with a slight grin before he turned his attention back to Talon.

"Talon, you _are_ hungry aren't you?" He asked her.

"Then why aren't you eating your sandwich?" Kyle asked when she nodded.

Talon turned her head towards the Jedi Master but kept her eyes towards the table as she answered the question.

"There's no tableware." She said in a near whisper.

Kyle started laughing, while Ben had the most perplexed expression ever seen on his face.

"Okay; I've got to know. What's so funny about that?" Ben demanded in a friendly tone.

"Well at dinner, she was about as neat as a starving Hutt, and now she won't touch her food without a fork. I guess your Aunt was pretty insistent with her lessons in dinning etiquette." He told Ben. "Talon, this is one kind of food that you are supposed to eat with your hands. Here; watch how we do it." Kyle instructed.

With a nod to Ben as an indication to follow suit; Kyle picked up his sandwich, and waited for the younger man to do the same. Then they both began to eat a few bites each. Talon watched them both carefully and frowned slightly when she thought they must be testing her, because they hadn't placed their napkins in their laps.

Talon quietly picked up her napkin and placed it neatly in her lap just as she'd been so painstakingly taught. Then she reached out and picked up her sandwich, and saw that the two Jedi were eating theirs in much the same way that she would have eaten a slab of emergency rations, except at a much slower pace. Taking a bite out of the strange looking type of food, Talon decided that it was much better than the ice cream, and began chewing contentedly.

Talon was eating at a pace that was so slow, she would surely have lost her meal to someone else who had already finished theirs had she still been back on Korriban. As it was, she was still eating faster than the two Jedi who were too busy talking to each other to worry about concentrating on their food.

As Talon carefully maintained her pace, she began to notice the flavor of the food she was eating, and having something to concentrate on, made the constant mental noise much less bothersome.

Twenty minutes later, Talon had finished with the sandwich after having taken far more time than she would have been allowed at the Sith academy; she now turned her attention to the large glass of Bantha milk.

Talon had no clue that the drink she'd been given was starting to affect her. She did know that there was a strange sensation in her head. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, or what caused it, but then she didn't really care. Unknown to either of the Jedi, or to Talon herself; the metabolic enhancers that she'd been given had caused her body to process the intoxicating beverage several times faster than it normally would have done, and Talon was a little more than slightly drunk.

Both Jedi paused in their discussion of current politics when they felt the abrupt but slight change in the Force. A glance at the girl found her sipping away quite happily from her glass. Suddenly the girl set her glass down and aimed a frown at the windows, before she turned to the two Jedi.

"This academy is much better than the Sith academy!" Talon exclaimed suddenly.

"Really? What makes you say that?" Ben asked her.

Talon looked over at the young Jedi as if he'd lost his mind. "Because I don't have to be cold, there's lots to eat, and no one tries to take the food away from me!" She answered in a happy tone.

"So, do you think you're going to enjoy it here?" Kyle asked with amused interest.

Talon frowned for a second as she glanced at the windows again, before she turned back to the Jedi. "What does enjoy mean?" She countered.

"Tell me that was a joke." Ben uttered in disbelief.

Talon started shaking her head "Jokes get you punished, even though Darth Magus used to do them all the time. The Masters never allowed themselves to be bested by a student. The Masters and Wielders used to punish me all the time for being better than they were, until I learned not to show them how much better my saber skills were." Talon said while still shaking her head.

"Where is this Darth Magus now?" Ben asked seriously.

"He's dead. One of the Guardians ate him. He got really angry when they attacked. He was so mad that he threw down the weapons that he was using for my training and tried to fight them with his lightsabers. He killed one, but another one grabbed him and ate him up. He screamed even louder than I ever did when he would punish me." Talon answered in a toneless voice.

"Just how did he used to punish you, Talon?" Kyle asked her.

"He... he would hit me with Force lightning over and over; for hours, until I would hurt for many days and sometimes weeks. Sometimes he or another Master would do it because I did something wrong, but other times they would do it just because they wanted to. I tried...I always tried so hard to do everything right, so I wouldn't get punished anymore. But it didn't matter, because it was almost as if they were hungry to see someone being hurt. I even tried to stay away from them when they were that way, but they would just do it to one of the others. Sometimes they would kill whatever student they found when they were that way. I had to stop avoiding them after that, because they wouldn't kill me, and I knew they couldn't kill me without a valid reason, because I was too valuable of a resource to be wasted. The Masters always let the Wielders do whatever they wanted to us, as long as they didn't waste resources. They were always hitting us with Force lightning. Then I saw one student somehow shove the Force lightning away from her. They sent her to the wilds for that. The Darth Magus told the rest of us that we'd better _never_ defend ourselves against any Master or Wielder." Talon told them quietly.

Only a complete idiot would have been unable to hear the sadness and fear in Talon's voice as she spoke of what she and the other students had been forced to live with. Kyle and Ben were most definitely not idiots, and both Jedi shot each other a hard look as if to verify that the other had heard the same blood chilling story.

Kyle now understood just why the girl was so terrified of getting punished by the Jedi. He'd heard Luke say that she'd been taught that Jedi were cruel, and Leia had said that she was raised to fear Jedi. Adding those simple facts together with what her Sith Masters had used for punishments, and he knew the girl had plenty of reason to go screaming down the streets as she ran for her life.

For his part; Ben now knew that everything two particular Sith had put him through in their attempts first to convert him and then to interrogate him; were nothing compared to the torment and misery that Talon had lived with her entire life. To endure torture when you knew there was a specific goal behind it was one thing, but it was something else again, when it was being done simply for pleasure.

Both Jedi were reflecting on the girl's explanation, when she caught their attention by speaking again.

"That wasn't even the worst part. They would give us a packet of food, and then if we didn't eat it fast enough, they would take it away and eat it themselves. Sometimes they would eat theirs before they gave us ours, so they could still take ours away. We weren't even allowed to try to fight back to keep it either. If we did, then we got punished. You want to know something?" Talon asked suddenly as she interrupted herself.

Both Jedi watched her with interest as she continued.

"I knew that my stomach would hurt when I hadn't eaten anything for a couple of days, but I didn't know that it would also hurt from eating too much. I'd much rather have that pain, than the one from being hungry, because at least the pain from eating too much goes away after a few hours, and hungry pain doesn't." She said absently.

"Another way that this place is better, is the way you were trying to teach the other students their saber skills. On Korriban, they would just line everyone up; show them the stroke that they were supposed to learn, and let them practice it. There wasn't any individual instruction on how to make sure the stance was correct, or that proper positioning was being used, or how to make sure that you could flow from one move or form to the next. But the way you were teaching those students today was better because anyone that does know the correct way to do something can show the others." Talon continued quietly as she reached out and picked up her glass of Bantha milk.

Both Jedi shared a glance at each other as Ben signaled the server droid over and ordered another sandwich along with two more glasses of blue milk. Both of them knew that Talon was feeling the effects of the beverage a little more than she should at this point, and began watching her closely in case something went wrong. They both knew that she wasn't in any danger, especially with a fully equipped infirmary nearby.

"I don't suppose you've got any tips for me concerning my saber skills do you?" Ben asked her curiously.

Talon suddenly set her glass down and leaned towards the young Jedi. "You know that first attack you made against me?" She asked in an almost conspiratorial tone.

"Yeah, what about it?" Ben asked.

"Never do it again!" Talon announced firmly while shaking her head.

"Now come on; I don't think it was _that_ bad! It's fast, powerful, and can do plenty of damage on the first strike." Ben countered after nearly choking on his ale.

Talon started shaking her head rapidly. "That's the kind of attack you would expect from a Wielder that doesn't know any better. None of the Fighters I know of; would ever try something like that unless they wanted to land on the floor in lots of pieces or get killed. Darth Magus knew better than to try something like that. I think he knew that my saber skills were much better than his, but even he would have hurt you very badly. At the very least; he would have kicked your feet so you couldn't land properly. If you want to leap at your opponent like that; then make sure you stay low to the ground, and come in really fast. Feint for the chest, and then sweep the ankles. That's the only thing that might give you a chance at pulling something like that off, but it's still too easily countered, unless you know that you're more skilled than they are." She informed him.

"Never leap at any opponent like that; unless they are wounded, dazed, or off balance. Otherwise, you're just asking to get hurt or killed." Talon said as she picked her glass up again.

Ben actually considered the advice for a minute while the girl finished her milk. He'd seen the way she'd been using not one, but _two_ full sized staves when he walked into that training room, and he knew that couldn't have been easy to learn. That plus the fact that she had easily held off his best attacks, in spite of her obvious disadvantage in size, told the young Jedi a great deal about her level of skill. That reminded him.

"So where did you learn to use a staff in each hand? I've never heard of anyone doing something like that before." Ben asked her with interest.

At that question, Kyle focused his entire attention on Talon. He too was interested in whatever answer Talon was going to give.

Talon furrowed her brow in concentration as she thought back. "I don't really know how to answer that. Darth Magus always made me work on my saber skills more than any of my other skills, but after we both knew that I had mastered all seven forms to a level that was even better than his; he made me try to use a staff in each hand. I think he just wanted to humiliate me at first. But after that first session, when I was hurting so much from the hits he'd given to me; I started thinking about it. I could almost see how the two weapons could work together, and that it should be possible to use them both, but he hadn't given me a chance to really figure it out. During the second session that day, I tried out the methods I'd thought of, some of them worked, but not very well. I had to wait until each session was over to think about what went wrong and how I could improve certain things. After that he just kept pushing me harder to develop the Whirlus form as he called it, and learn to master it at the same time. I think that he only wanted to see just how far my saber skills could go, because he never did consider me worthy of being a Sith no matter how hard I tried. I know he wanted to kill me after he learned everything he could from me, so I always had to make sure that I stayed better than he was." Talon finished sadly.

"So you still want to be a Sith then?" Ben asked curiously.

"How can I be trained as a Sith when they've all been eaten up? There's no one left to teach me, and I still can't summon anger or hate. That's what made me a failure as a Sith. That hasn't changed. So, I don't know what I'm supposed to be. Master Leia wants me to stay here and learn to become a Jedi, but that other Master promised to send me away. I... I don't want to be sent to the wilds." She said quietly.

Talon was nearly in tears as she spoke these words, and both Jedi could sense the girl's fears about her uncertain future.

Kyle sighed heavily as he looked at the girl sitting at the table with him. At little more than a meter in height; his lightsaber would be taller than she was. Stunted and pitifully thin; it was no wonder she was easily thought to be four or even five years younger than she was. Kyle passed the sandwich and two glasses of blue milk to her when the droid arrived as he tried to think of something he could say that would reassure her about an uncertain future.

Closing his eyes and calming his mind; Kyle Katarn began to focus himself. With his thoughts focused on the girl's future; the Jedi Master opened himself to the Force. Several of the visions that came to his mind were violent and full of turmoil. Others were serene and peaceful. One set of visions saw her face contorted with hate as she led an army of Sith across the galaxy to slaughter every Jedi that could be found. Another set of visions found her standing at the vanguard of a team of Jedi while facing other Sith with blades as red her own. Kyle saw a combat team the likes of which no one had ever dreamed would be put together. Jedi, Mandalorians, and YVH droids surrounded the girl as she led them somewhere deep into the bowels of what he recognized as Korriban. He then saw the girl addressing thousands of storm troopers as they prepared for battle. The next vision found the girl dismembering those same storm troopers as she fought wildly to protect a downed Jedi who'd been hit.

In each set of visions, there was one glaring difference that quickly became apparent to the Jedi Master. Opening his eyes; Kyle looked over to see Talon brooding silently. Knowing how close he'd come to losing one of his own students; Rosh Penin to the dark side, Kyle could not in good conscience allow that to happen to the girl currently sharing the table with him. He knew that her saber skills alone would make her a valuable addition to the Order, but he also knew that a student had to _want_ to become a Jedi as well in order to be accepted for training.

"Talon, the only reason Master Hamner doesn't want you here; is because you're a Sith. So, you need to make a decision, Talon. Do you want to be a Sith, or do you want to stay here and train to become a Jedi? You have to choose one way or the other, and no one else can tell you what choice to make. It has to be _your_ choice; _your_ decision. I can't make it for you and neither can Ben here, or even Leia. It has to be made by you."

"What will happen if I want to be a Sith?" Talon asked in a whisper.

There was a sudden hiss as Ben drew in a sharp almost angry breath at that question.

"If you want to be trained as a Sith, then you'd have to leave Talon. I don't know where you'd go, but I'm sure that you'd find other Sith eventually, but I don't know how long it would be before you did find them." Kyle told her refusing to lie about what he knew could possibly happen.

"What if I want to be a Jedi?" Talon then asked just as softly.

Ben gave the girl a skeptical glance. He realized then that she was only trying to find out what her options were. But still, the idea of sitting at a table, sharing a drink with someone that he might have to try to kill one day, disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.

"If you decide that you want to be trained as a Jedi, and join the Order, then you'd stay here, or go to one of our other academies for training. You'd be assigned a Master who would teach you the rules and ways of our Order." Kyle answered honestly.

Talon stared at the food in front of her with eyes that weren't seeing what was there. Instead, she was seeing the horrified expression on the face of a young student who'd just been told to leave by Darth Magus. She was seeing the countless times that she and other students had gone hungry, because their Sith Masters were still hungry themselves. She saw the stark terror and pain on the faces of students who were having their minds invaded by Sith instructors. Her ears became filled with the memory of the screams of torment that had often echoed through the halls of the academy during a student's punishment. Then Talon blinked her eyes and she finally did see the food in front of her. So much noise and so many emotions were flowing through her mind, and only a very, very few of them actually hers, that she hadn't noticed what had been right in front of her the whole time.

As Talon stared at the food in front of her, she struggled to think back to that first time she had met a Jedi. She remembered what she had looked like when she had escaped from the Guardians, but now, looking back at the moment before she'd found out she was with the Jedi; she realized that someone had cleaned her up, dressed her, and put her in a warm bed. She remembered how the first thing that a Jedi had said to her was that she was safe, and that the Jedi wouldn't let anyone harm her. She remembered how that Jedi had protected her from another, then, later, _that_ Jedi had protected her from still another Jedi. _"I'm a Jedi and it's my job."_ Talon could almost hear those words once more. There hadn't been any anger or hate in them, nor was there any hostility in the Jedi's tone. No, there had been only immutable, solid, reliable fact in those simple words which were beginning to explain so much, and yet so little at the same time.

Instead of punishment for ignorance, there had been explanations that answered questions. Instead of being cold, or burning up in this heat, she'd been given clothes to keep her comfortable. Instead of being hungry, there was more food than she would ever have dared to dream of.

As they sat quietly waiting to see what Talon's decision would be; both Jedi felt a small subtle shift in the Force around them. It was as if something incredibly heavy had been moved nearby, but they had no idea what it was.

As she continued to look down at the food in front of her; Talon knew what her decision had to be, and all at once, to her, it felt as if the Force itself was in approval.

Master Katarn was waiting patiently for Talon to come to her decision. He knew that it wasn't an easy thing to decide. Return to a life of misery, or turn your back on everything you've ever known to side with the enemy that you've been taught to fear and hate. It wouldn't be an easy choice for an adult, but for someone Talon's age? Kyle knew it had to be a tough choice.

"I want to be a Jedi." Talon said determinedly as she looked the Jedi Master straight in the eye.

She wasn't sure what had made her do such a thing. Her Sith Masters had always taken it as a challenge when a student had met their eyes, but just this once, something had told her to do just that. Talon was sure that something was going to happen now, but she didn't know what.

The Jedi Master couldn't hold back a grin as he reached over and placed a hand on Talon's shoulder. "Glad to hear it, Talon. And I'm sure that you'll make a fine Jedi someday."

"You've got a big day tomorrow, so why don't you finish eating and then try to get some sleep?" Kyle suggested as he finished his ale and started to get up. A subtle nod to Ben and the young Jedi quickly took the silent hint and did the same. Both were leaving Talon to finish her food in peace.

Talon did as she was told and began eating. Chewing thoughtfully as she watched the two Jedi leave, Talon wasn't sure why tomorrow was so important. She was still having trouble thinking clearly because of the intruding thoughts and emotions that she was receiving. Strangely after all that had happened to her, Talon felt safer than she ever had in her life as she finished her food and went to her quarters to get some sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**SW 6**

As she walked into her quarters, Leia knew that she was in for a long night. The first thing she did was put on a pot of caf before heading to the refresher. She stripped down and stepped into the shower unit to revel in the powerful spray of hot water. She allowed herself to relax and enjoy the shower for thirty minutes before she got out, dried off, and pulled on her nightgown. After Leia fixed a cup of caf; she walked over to the soothing aide that had been a gift from the Queen Mother of Hapes. Leia set the device to produce the scent of the forests of Endor along with the sounds of a medium sized waterfall. The Jedi knew that after what little she'd learned, she was going to need something to relax her mind and keep her calm and focused.

Leia curled herself up in a large overstuffed chair next to the workstation, and picked up the first of the standard data pads that she'd gotten from Talon. This was the journal of Darth Magus, and in it, the Sith Lord had detailed many of the innovations he'd made and why. As she started reading, Leia became more and more horrified that anyone could do such things.

_As instructed by my Master, Darth Tyranus, I will keep a record of the means by which I train those who will embody the future of the Sith legacy. My Master, Darth Tyranus has assured me that his Master will never know of this secret academy until it is time for I, and my students to sweep across the galaxy bringing death and terror to all who dare stand in our path..._

…_The secret accounts have been set up for automated use, so I will never need to leave this base of operations. This is excellent, because I can now begin to train the small group of younglings that have been brought to me. One of the first things I have done is to wipe away all knowledge and memory of who they once were. They will now be Sith or they will die. For them to have a name, they must earn the privilege of choosing one. I will begin to sort the strong from the weak by starting their saber training. Four hours at a time, and three times each day. These younglings can become strong or they can die..._

…_Well. It seems that I went too far with the Force lightning today. One of the students began to cry because he was tired and hungry, and I ended up killing him. Pity, he might have been useful. I'll have to practice with a few of the others to make sure that I know exactly how much can be delivered at one time to avoid the unwanted deaths of worthy students..._

…_Excellent! I've finally mastered a method by which I can subject any of the students to hours of Force lightning without killing them; although it took quite a few deaths to figure it out! This will mean longer sessions of torment for them in the future. The means that I used to accomplish this is by allowing their bodies to act as a conduit for the low power lightning from me to form a complete circuit, and I've noticed an interesting a very enjoyable side effect of this process; it overloads the victim's nervous system in such a way as to leave them in constant agony for as long as three weeks afterwards, and with this method I can make them last far longer than they would normally survive..._

…_I've decided that none of the students will be allowed to have clothing until they earn their names. As cold as it is in these caverns, they shiver almost constantly. I find it hilariously satisfying to watch them try to hold a saber while shivering uncontrollably. It will be just one more method of constant torment that will sort out those who are worthy of the title of Sith. During their brief sleeping periods they huddle together for warmth, and I find that I am truly enjoying their constant misery. I've also deliberately neglected to show them how to operate the environmental controls, along with the communal refreshers; I will keep them ignorant of anything and everything, except what I think they need to know..._

…_One of the Tarentatek wandered into the lower caverns today. I finally killed the creature by plunging my lightsaber through its eye. I've decided to teach these students that they are the Guardians of Sith strength, and that only those worthy of being true Sith may earn the privilege of facing them in battle. I will now begin using exile as one of my many punishments for any and all infractions. The agonized and terrified screams of these younglings as I torture them has become akin to the most wonderful music..._

…_It seems that the latest shipments of emergency rations were short. This has proven to be an unexpected boon. The students have begun to fight over the food supplies. I'll never order enough food supplies again! I've also decided to begin adding Mandalorian battle stimulants to the food that I do order, so that the students who do manage to eat will become more aggressive. The stimulants won't be near as effective as they would be if injected, but they will still increase the aggression of those who eat the treated supplies..._

…_Well. I've discovered something today. I've found that after using the Force to invade the mind of a student that I had just finished tormenting, that the boy had little to no mental defenses. I was able to completely control his access to the Force! I will begin doing this with each and every student that comes here. Those that can learn to defend against such invasions will learn to control those who can't. The students who don't learn to defend themselves will be trained in only the most basic use of the Force except to feed most of their strength to the controlling Sith. I'll make certain that the weak ones are given excellent saber skills so that they can be used as front line shock troops, while the controlling Sith stand back and use the Force through the connection provided by their cannon fodder. It will be interesting to see how their enemies react to a horde of naked suicide troops charging at them. Students will now either earn their place as a Wielder, or a Fighter, but not even these Wielders will become Sith until I say that they are..._

…_My system could not be working better! The Fighters, as they are now called, have no mental defenses what so ever! It has even served to dramatically increase the Fighter's connection to the Force, which will make them that much more effective in battle! This is being achieved by mental invasions in which the victim is forced to see and feel their body being raped. The fun part is that the Fighter is never actually injured by this process, which means that it can be performed dozens of times each day. I'm actually starting to enjoy working with these students again..._

…_Oh, the irony. The perfectly twisted irony! One of the Wielders asked about where we Sith came from today, and I have begun to teach a version of history that will have these students so terrified of the Jedi that they will fight to the death with a ferocity that will guarantee there will never be any prisoners of either side! No one, Jedi, or otherwise will be able to stand against this new Sith army that I have created..._

…_Force sensitive younglings are getting hard to find as of late, so I have begun a breeding program. Those males who are strongest in the Force and have attained the rank of Wielder or Master will be able to provide new generations of potential Sith. While those females who have also attained such rank and are strong in the Force will allow themselves to be bred. The female Fighters who are strong in the Force will be forcibly bred upon their first fertility cycle; whether they wish to be or not! Any male Fighters who are strong in the Force will have proven themselves to be almost useless to the Sith cause and will not be allowed to breed..._

…_The Fighter Wing's saber skills are progressing farther than I might have anticipated. I've ordered several hundred tons of Beskar to construct some rather unique training weapons that I'm sure will take them down a few notches. I intend to make sure that each weapon weighs a full metric ton. They will find it very difficult to master these new weapons, but I intend to see that they do so, or die..._

…_The time will soon come when this new army of Sith will be ready to sweep across the galaxy leaving nothing but terror and carnage in their wake. Our numbers have climbed to 4,368, and what a magnificent sight it shall be to witness the slaughter that will commence once I decide that it's time to unleash our wrath upon our unsuspecting victims..._

…_Recently, one of the younglings has begun to develop saber skills that rival my own. She is not particularly strong in the Force, and she is far too weak too defend herself from any of my mental invasions, or those of any of the other Masters I have trained. I think I will see just what she can learn as far as her saber skills are concerned. In the meantime, I will allow both the other Masters and the Wielders to have their fun tormenting her, but I will make it clear that they are not to kill her; yet..._

…_I'm now positive that this particular Fighter is like a gift from the Darkside of the Force! She has begun to use her telekinetic ability on a subconscious level. I didn't know that such a thing was possible. Several of the Wielder's want to kill her, or at least exile her for being so weak and unworthy. I know the feeling. I'm completely disgusted by her very nature. Every time I go anywhere near her, I have to suppress the urge to kill her out of pure revulsion. But I have managed to avoid doing so, because I am using her to pioneer new teaching techniques. If I can teach all of my new Sith to use the Force at an unconscious level then we will truly be unstoppable..._

…_This should not be possible, yet it is. This Fighter managed to use a staff in each hand today! I made her use them on a whim to humiliate her, and during the first session with them that's exactly what happened, but during the second training session she began to use them more effectively. I think I will continue to keep her alive for now to see how far she can go with this interesting fighting style..._

…_One of the first Masters I ever trained has begun giving this unworthy Fighter the laughable title of "The Talon of the Sith", and I find it utterly ridiculous! As if I would ever allow that worthless Fighter to gain the title of Sith! I will use her to finish the development of the Whirlus form, and then see if she can come up with anything that might prove worth her life. If she can't come up with anything more, then she will die. She isn't strong enough in the Force to be used for breeding, although she might produce a few more Fighters, and I must admit that it would be fun to see her reaction to her first breeding. She would be completely worthless were it not for her remarkable saber skills. I will truly savor each and every one of her agonized screams as I enjoy causing her to die slowly... _

Leia set the data pad aside and wiped tears of pure rage from her eyes. Even with what she'd seen in Talon's mind, she still hadn't had any idea that the young girl's life had been one of such torment and misery that it was a wonder that the girl still wanted to live. Leia knew that there was no way that she could bring herself to read any further. The information was just too sadistic, too horrific, and the more she read; the angrier she became. To learn that a child's entire life was nothing more than a sick demented experiment to develop techniques that would be used by other individuals, who were considered more worthy, was abhorrent to the Jedi.

Leia rubbed her face with both hands before running them through her hair as she tried to get a grip on herself. Part of her wanted to assemble an army to make sure that all of those who were in charge at that academy on Korriban were dead, dismembered, disemboweled, and dis-anything else she could think of, while another part of her wanted to rush to the girl's room, cradle the child protectively in her arms, and promise the girl that such things would never happen again. Realistically, she knew that both courses of action were completely irrational, but still, her conscience demanded that she do something to right this situation.

Leia wished now that she hadn't taken that shower earlier, because after reading what was contained on that data pad; she somehow felt contaminated by it. She knew from the overall tone of the writing that Darth Magus had truly enjoyed tormenting both Talon, and every last one of the students who had the severe misfortune to end up under his control. The Jedi shuddered in revolted disgust. Leia knew she had only skimmed through and actually read a small fraction of the entire journal, but that was more than enough.

Grabbing her cup; Leia went over to her bags of luggage and pulled out a small flask of Corellian brandy. Pouring a small shot of the liquor into her cup, she then filled it the rest of the way with caf and sat down to drink it. It didn't take the Jedi long to recover from the pure shock of what she'd learned, but woe to anyone that crossed the Knight in her current mood.

Four stiff drinks and an hour later, Leia had finally begun to shed her murderous thoughts. It hadn't been easy, but between the liquor and meditation, she had managed to reach a point where every other thought wasn't about a painful method of killing an already dead Sith Lord. She knew that there was no way she could brief the council on this information until she calmed down even more than she already had. Thoughts of that shower were once again running through Leia's mind when the door to her quarters slid open with a hiss, and her husband walked in.

"Well, don't you look surprised." Han said with a grin.

Perfectly trimmed brows rose a full centimeter as Leia looked at him. "Is it going to stay fixed this time?"

"Honestly. I don't know. I had just gotten the hyper drive torn apart for some maintenance, when I got Luke's call. So I called Lando, asked if he could finish the job, and loan me a ship. After that, well, I got here as fast as I could." Han answered with a heavy sigh.

Now Leia did look surprised. "You _left_ the Falcon?" She gasped in disbelief.

"Hey! She's in good hands. Lando promised to take good care of her. Besides, when Luke said something about you finding a Sith, I wasn't going to just sit around." Han retorted with a wounded expression.

"I think it's more like the Sith found me. And you can relax. She's not a threat. Although I'd _love_ to get the miserable Hutt spawn that trained her at the end of my lightsaber!" Leia finished in a near snarl.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Han asked instantly.

"He's already dead." Leia stated disgustedly.

"Luke beat you to him, huh?" The Corellian asked as he moved the other chair so he could sit facing his wife.

The Jedi shook her head as she tried to figure out how to begin to explain the mess that had been dumped on her.

"No, he didn't get the chance either. The Hutt slime died before I even found out about him." Leia huffed sullenly.

"So? Where's the corpse? I'll feed him to a sarlacc for you. I happen to know the location of a pretty good sized one too." Han quipped seriously.

"Again, you're too late, Sweetheart. He got ate by something that would have made me take off running." Leia stated bluntly.

"Good for him! Now, what about this other Sith you mentioned? The one that's not a threat." Han asked her, changing the subject.

Leia shook her head while thinking. "I don't know, Han. I'm supposed to brief the council about her in a couple of hours and see if I can convince them to accept her as a student. But I promised her that if she couldn't stay here, then I'd let her stay with me." Leia admitted heavily.

Han didn't say a word, he didn't have to. The former smuggler gave her a look that demanded to know if he was allowed any say in the matter.

"She's barely a teen, although you'd swear she was only eight, _maybe_ nine, and she's scared, because her whole life has been nothing but a living hell." Leia explained. "All I know is that every time I look at her, I can't help but wonder how I would feel if Jaina had been given the kind of life she's had."

"Come on, Princess. It couldn't have been that bad, could it?" Han asked doubtfully.

"No, _no!_ There is no way that I'm letting you read that journal to see for yourself how bad it was! Kindness, compassion, a little sympathy, and friendship? Yes! She needs that, but she does _not_ need pity! Which is about all she'd end up getting from anyone who reads that... that twisted… _mess!_" Leia finished angrily gesturing at the data pad.

If he didn't know her better; Han Solo would have almost sworn that his wife had been about to use profanity, which he knew occurred about as often as a heavy rain on Tatooine. From that alone, the Corellian knew that whatever had happened to this Sith, it had to be pretty bad.

"So, when do I meet this Sith?"

"What?" Leia asked not sure she heard him correctly.

"Well, there's a chance that we're going to be taking her in, right? So, I should at least get a chance to meet her before she moves in, shouldn't I?" He asked in a reasonable tone.

Leia glanced up at her husband suspiciously. He was just a little too quick to accept this situation for her liking. "Fair enough. You can meet her when the morning wake up bell sounds. And don't think you're going to talk me out of this." Leia answered firmly.

Leia raised her eyebrows when her husband gave her his patented "who me?" look of complete innocence. She watched as Han wore that expression for only a couple of seconds before it dissolved into that classic smug grin of his, which said he had the winning hand this time.

"Oh don't worry about that, Princess. I'm not even gonna try." Han told her smugly.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're finally learning..."

"I'll let your brother do it for me!" Han interrupted her smoothly.

The Jedi gaped at her husband for a few seconds before she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Han demanded suspiciously.

"Luke's already met her, and he fully agrees with me. She needs to be trained as a Jedi. He might even try taking her in if we don't." Leia told him when she finally stopped laughing.

"_Luke?_ Come on, Leia! He hasn't got the slightest clue how to raise a young girl, or how much trouble they can cause." Han said seriously.

"I know. Believe me; I know. For right now, she seems to trust me a little. Which is saying a lot, because she's been taught to fear Jedi. So, if the council does decide to accept her into the Order, they may have me working with her in some aspect or another." Leia began explaining.

"Which means that we might end up with her anyway." Han finished for her.

Leia nodded her head in agreement. "Exactly. Han, I know that we have our own little way of dealing with each other, but we'll need to be careful of our comments around Talon. She won't understand our jokes, and she doesn't even know what the word 'friend' means; forget about what it means to actually have a friend." Leia began explaining. "When you meet her; just remember that she's still terrified of Jedi and anything to do with us. So, don't expect much of a conversation from her." She warned.

"So, let me get this straight. You don't want _me_ scaring the _Sith_! Is that right?" Han asked in a doubtful tone.

"Exactly. She's not like any of the Sith or Dark Jedi that we've faced in the past. She's young, inexperienced, and certain that she's going to be killed at the slightest excuse. She has a few things that could really benefit the Order, but she hasn't really been trained as a Sith, or much of anything really. So, when you do meet her; I want you to turn on that winning charm of yours." Leia told him.

The former smuggler looked at his wife searchingly for a long moment, before he nodded his head as if considering it. Han wasn't stupid. One didn't survive for long as a wanted criminal, rebel, or a smuggler without a high level of intelligence or a lot of luck. Corellian captain Han Solo had both, and he knew that his wife wouldn't ask something like this from him lightly. That Leia knew a lot more about this Sith girl than she was telling him was obvious. He could also see that this was something that was important to her for some reason she hadn't explained yet. Finally, he looked his wife straight in the eye. Then captain Han Solo flashed such a brilliant, winning, and devilish smile that it might have convinced even most Jedi.

Leia was neither fooled nor impressed. "You'll have to do much better than that, Han." She told him rolling her eyes.

Han's smile vanished in an instant as he gave his wife a hard look. "You're really serious about this aren't you? You really want me to try to make a good impression on a _Sith_?"

"Yes, I do. As young and impressionable as she is; Talon can be taught better. She doesn't have to end up like... like..." Leia couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, and she didn't need to.

Han grimaced as a wave of memories washed over him. Suddenly it all made perfect sense. He knew without needing to ask, exactly where his wife was going with this. Even four years later, they still couldn't talk about who, and more importantly, _what_ their son had become after his fall to the darkside.

Han shook his head as he got up to pour himself some caf. He realized that his wife wanted to give this Sith a second chance. The same chance that the monster who had once been their son had so arrogantly spurned. He wondered just how tough it would be to try balancing the scales this time. If this girl that Leia was talking about was anything like Darth whatever his name was; then it was going to a real challenge, and he doubted that they'd be able to pull it off on their own. Then he realized that if Luke had already met this Sith, and agreed that she needed to be trained as a Jedi; then maybe it wasn't such a lost cause. Making up his mind was fairly easy after that realization.

"Alright. I'll give it a run. But there is no way that I'm taking a chance that this kid will turn out to become another one of those _things_ that our son turned into! I see that start to happen, and I'll take her out myself." Han finally told his wife bluntly.

"I'll agree with that, but honestly, I don't think we'll have to worry about it. If she ever does learn to hate anyone, it'll be her Sith Masters." Leia said in a matter of fact tone.

Han only nodded as he drank some of his caf.

"So, how soon do you think Lando will have the Falcon ready?" Leia asked changing the subject. Knowing that he'd given his final opinion, but was ready to give Talon an honest chance.

"Shouldn't be more than a day or two. There wasn't anything really wrong with her. Like I said; I was just doing some maintenance on the hyperdrive. I don't think he's gonna be happy with me though." Han finished with a devilish grin.

"Why; what did you do to him this time?" Leia asked as she narrowed her eyes at the man.

"I left Goldenrod with him." Han said simply waiting for the right instant to tell her.

Leia choked on the spiked caf that she was sipping on. It took the Jedi a few seconds to get control of herself, and when she did; she shot her husband a disbelieving look.

"You realize that Lando just might shut him down permanently?" Leia chided.

"Somebody's got to do it sooner or later." Han quipped with a grin.

Leia started chuckling. Her husband's intense dislike of the talkative protocol droid was certainly well on its way to becoming an obsession with him.

"So, how'd it go?" Han asked curiously.

"How did what go?" Leia shot back, not quite following.

"The shakedown run of the Alderaan? What'd you think I meant?" Han supplied.

Leia sighed before she began providing all of the boring details that only a die hard pilot or engineer would be interested in. The two sat there drinking caf while discussing the merits of the heavily armored, but lightly armed diplomatic vessel. The change of subject had done wonders for helping Leia to shed her murderous mood, but hadn't done anything to help her prepare what she was going to tell the council. An hour later, the two of them were still discussing the various amenities of the new vessel when the first wake up bell sounded.

Leia looked up at the sound of the chime, before looking back at Han. "Come on; I'll introduce you to the most menacing Sith you'll ever meet." Leia quipped with a wink and grin as she got up, changed into her robes, grabbed a few things, and headed for the door.

"You're not making me feel any better about this, you know." Han complained grouchily as he followed her.

Leia made no answer as she walked across the stone tiled hallway; before she stopped at the door to Talon's quarters and tapped the call button on the entry panel. Leia didn't expect a response, because she knew she hadn't explained all of the functions included on the lock panel, but she had still signaled to be polite. Leia also noted that the door wasn't sealed, so she palmed it open after waiting a moment.

As soon as the door hissed open, a wash of cold air blew over both of them, and Leia shivered in spite of being ready for it. Han, on the other hand, had no warning, and wasn't prepared for that little surprise.

"It's as cold as a meat locker in here!" He exclaimed as he followed his wife into the cold dark room. Leia tapped the controls to the lights as she moved into the room, not that the dim lighting made much difference.

Han stopped as he realized that his wife was staring at an empty bed that looked as if it had never actually been slept in at all. "Well? Where is she?" He asked.

Leia was about to reply that she didn't know, when they both heard a soft snore emerge from the far side of the bed. Curious they both stepped closer for a better look.

In the far corner formed by the head of the bed and the wall; Talon was on the floor curled into a fetal position and still sound asleep. Leia held up a hand to stop her husband from approaching closer.

"Would you mind waiting in the hall until she gets dressed?" Leia asked him.

"Sure. Why not? It's warmer out there anyway." Han replied with a sour mutter and a shrug as he turned for the door.

As soon as the door slid closed; Leia knelt down and reached out with her hand intending to gently wake the girl up. She never got the chance. As soon as her hand started towards the girl; Talon came awake with a startled gasp.

Leia didn't say anything as the girl in front of her tried in vain to press herself further into the corner than she already was. Leia noted that the girl never took her eyes off the Jedi's hand; fully expecting something to happen to her.

Leia pulled her hand back to rest it on her thigh; giving Talon a light smile. "Sorry Talon. I didn't mean to startle you. It's time to get up, so you can meet someone and join us for breakfast."

"What's that?" Talon asked eyeing the Jedi warily.

"Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day. It helps you wake up, and gives you the energy you need to start the day." Leia told her with a light smile. "Now, come on. Let's get you dressed. There's someone that wants to meet you."

Leia stood and offered a hand to the girl, who only looked at it questioningly. The Jedi had to suppress a snort of amusement at the girl's confusion. "Give me your hand and I'll help you up."

Talon reluctantly did as she was told and gave the Jedi her hand. She felt Leia take a firm grip and begin to pull. This was the first time that Talon had ever received help with anything, and she quickly realized that she could use the Jedi's strength just as she would have used her bed or anything else.

Talon got to her feet on muscles that were stiff and aching from both her exertions during her escape as well as her last session of punishment from Darth Magus. This condition was nothing new to her since she'd often felt much worse than this every morning for as long as she could remember. Talon tilted her head to the side in confusion when she realized that she didn't hurt quite as much as she usually did in the mornings. Then it struck her; she hadn't been punished yesterday! That realization didn't help Talon's morning any, because she was certain that she would be punished today for her disobedience the previous night.

Deciding that she'd rather be punished as soon as possible so that she could have some time to try to recover before facing whatever Master Cilghal might do to her, Talon chose that moment to confess.

"Master Leia, I disobeyed you by practicing my saber skills in a training session last night, and I'm ready to face my punishment." Talon stated in a soft trembling voice while looking at the floor.

"What? Why would you do something like that on a broken leg, Talon? Are you trying to end up in a bacta tank?" Leia promptly demanded, not even registering the fact that the girl had addressed her as a Master.

When the girl only shook her head to answer the questions, Leia let out a sigh of exasperation, knelt down in front of her, and put her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Look at me Talon." Leia instructed firmly. "I want to know why you would do something like that?" Leia continued when she had the girl's attention.

Talon swallowed hard and looked back towards the floor as she started to answer that question.

"Talon, are you listening to me?" Leia snapped before Talon could make a single sound.

Talon nodded her head as her heart began pounding in her chest. Experience told her that whenever a Master had to work themselves up for it, that the punishment was always _much_ worse than usual.

"Then look at me, Talon. It's considered very rude, insulting, and disrespectful to look at anything except the person who's speaking to you, understand?" Leia explained while looking the girl in the eye.

Leia couldn't help but notice that Talon wasn't exactly meeting her eyes, but having the girl fix her gaze on her mouth instead of the floor was a vast improvement. Leia knew that she'd had Talon's full attention from the start, but she knew that many of the Masters and instructors at this academy wouldn't think so; therefore she needed to get Talon to drop that habit quickly.

"Talon, the reason you can't practice your saber skills is because your bones are very brittle right now, and they'll break very easily. You were extremely lucky yesterday in that you only ended up with a broken leg; it could have been worse. If you had hit your head... well, it could have killed you. You could have ended up with enough broken bones to put you in that bacta tank for much longer than a week. That's why Cilghal doesn't want you doing anything like that for a while. This isn't intended to be a punishment Talon; it's to keep you safe from injury. Understand?" Leia explained patiently.

Talon wasn't sure that she did understand the reason given, but she nodded her head to give the Jedi the answer she was looking for. Talon was more than a little concerned and frightened that the Jedi had gotten so close to her before she'd waken up. Talon knew that she would normally wake up when anyone came within three meters of her, but this time she hadn't, and that really worried her, because she knew from painful experience that Masters did _not_ like to be kept waiting.

"Now, let's get you dressed. There's someone out in the hall waiting to meet you." Leia said as she encouraged the girl out of the corner.

Talon gathered her clothes from the chair, where she'd laid them before going to sleep the night before. She remembered feeling strange without the other Fighters around her to share body heat, and had later moved to the corner to try to sleep in a way that was more familiar to her. Sitting down on the floor; Talon removed her leg brace and began getting dressed.

She made a couple of false starts when it came to putting on the shirt. It wasn't all that easy for Leia to avoid laughing when Talon tried to put the shirt on backwards. The only reason the Jedi was able to, was because she knew that Talon had never been allowed to have any type of clothing before.

With Leia's help; the girl was dressed fairly quickly. While Talon was putting her brace back on, Leia went into the refresher to retrieve a brush to do something with the girl's hair.

Leia sat down on the bed and had Talon stand in front of her while facing away from her, so she could fix the girl's hair. Not wanting to keep her husband waiting; Leia used the Force to activate the door panel.

"Come on in, Han. She's dressed now." Leia called out as soon as the door slid open. Turning her attention to the room's environmental controls; Leia again used the Force to temporarily reset them to standard levels.

Talon flinched as the heat rushed across her hands and face. While Talon was glad to able to be warm enough to be comfortable, she had no idea how these Jedi were able to stand the levels of heat that they seemed to prefer.

As Han walked back into the room, he saw his wife brushing the hair of what appeared to be a very young girl. The girl was shorter than his wife's activated lightsaber, and the top of her head wouldn't even reach his elbow. Han stopped in his tracks and stared at the girl his wife was tending to; taking careful note of everything about her.

A mere one hundred and seventeen centimeters in height; Talon had pale alabaster white skin, a mass of hair that was as black as the depths of intergalactic space reached down past the girl's waist, and eyes that were glowing slightly with the color of high quality gold. Four lightsabers were hanging from the girl's belt, along with a pair of thermal modulators. He could see that the girl was watching him warily, but hadn't moved from her position in front of Leia.

"So, this is the Sith you wanted me to meet?" Han asked doubtfully while looking at the two.

Leia glanced up at him and nodded her head. "Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself? You'll see what I mean."

"Okay." Han replied as he moved to stand in front of the girl so she could see him without interrupting what his wife was doing to her hair.

"Hi. I'm Han." He stated with a disarming grin.

He ended up staring stupidly at her when she only flicked her eyes up to look at him for a split second before she looked back at the floor and nodded silently. Han met his wife's gaze over the girl's head and raised his brows questioningly.

Leia shot the confused man an amused smirk that screamed 'I told you so' without stopping what she was doing. She had noticed that Talon was once again not complaining about any discomfort or pain; even though Leia knew that some of the tangles she was working on _had_ to hurt. Leia deliberately caught her husband's eye and nodded meaningfully toward Talon to encourage him to keep trying.

Han hunkered down on one knee to put himself on the girl's level as he reviewed everything his wife had said about her. He was more than a little disconcerted by the fact that not only would she not say anything, but she wouldn't even really look at him. Even though she was only getting her hair brushed, Han would have sworn that she was getting ready to face her own execution or something, from the air of expectant doom that hung around her.

"So, Leia tells me that you're a Sith." Han tried again; nearly wincing as he realized how lame it sounded, but became concerned when the only reaction he got was another silent nod of her head. Han gave a mental shrug and cleared the cobwebs out of his mind. He was now determined to get a response out of this kid even if it got him in a mess of a bind.

"Did you know that Leia's father was a Sith?" Han asked her suddenly.

Talon looked up at the man in front of her as half a dozen questions went through her mind. Leia looked up at Han in surprise when he'd said that, and couldn't help but wonder where he was going with _that_ line of conversation.

"What's a father?"

It seemed like such a simple and innocent question, but at the same time it contained implications that floored the Corellian pilot. Han looked up at his wife helplessly, and saw that she was just as stunned by the question as he was. Han had a well deserved reputation as being quick of wit, and a fast thinker, but that was not the case here. He resembled nothing so much as an aquatic creature deprived of water as he kept opening and then closing his mouth while trying to think of a reply.

"A father is usually, but not always a male progenitor that helps guide, teach, and protect the young. In some cases the male only provides the necessary genes. You'll learn more about that once you're placed in regular classes." Leia said coming to her husband's rescue, while giving Talon an answer that would both answer the question truthfully, but also avoid taking the conversation into areas of family which Talon knew nothing about, or the physical act of procreation; which Talon knew far too much about.

Talon frowned slightly in concentration as she tried in vain to make sense of the answer that she'd been given. She was once again acutely aware of the incredible jumble of thoughts and emotions emanating from the world around her that made it difficult to think. She could feel the calm steady presence of the Jedi behind her, and while she could tell that Leia wasn't trying to use the Force to affect her in any way; the strength of the Jedi's mind helped to drown out a large amount of what she was sensing. Finally Talon decided that since one question couldn't be answered, perhaps other questions could be.

"Who was he?" Talon asked softly.

Leia froze when she heard that question. She hadn't planned on revealing that part of her life to Talon just yet, because she wanted Talon to focus more on seeing the principals and differences of the Jedi for herself. Looking up at Han; Leia saw that cocky smirk which said that this was exactly where he'd planned on going to begin with.

"Who? Leia's father? Oh, that would be Darth Vader." Han stated a little smugly thinking that the information would impress the girl.

Talon's golden eyes shot wide open as she whipped around to stare at the Jedi with an expression of complete shock on her face.

"You knew Lord Vader?" Talon asked in a hushed awe filled tone.

Leia could have strangled Han for bringing that up, but seeing the look on Talon's face, and hearing the reverent awe filled tone in the girl's voice; she realized that it might actually work in her favor.

"Yes, I knew Darth Vader, but did you know that he was trained as a Jedi, and regretted ever becoming a Sith?" Leia responded with a light smile.

"What's regret?" Talon asked puzzled.

It was exactly the question that Leia was hoping for, and when Talon asked it; Leia could not keep a true smile from emerging as she prepared to answer it.

"Regret is when you do something that you later wish you had never done. It's like doing something to get punished for, and even if you don't get punished; you still wish that you hadn't done it to begin with." Leia explained still smiling.

That was an answer and explanation that Talon could easily understand, and more, identify with. Talon stood there thinking about what the Jedi had just told her. She knew of Lord Vader from some of the lessons that Darth Magus had sometimes taught, and while some of those lessons were sure to be lies, one thing she was certain of, because Darth Magus had repeatedly insisted on it; was that he had been a powerful Sith Lord, which all Sith should try to emulate.

"What did he do?" She asked in a near whisper.

Leia's smile softened as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "He resolved his regret by turning against the Emperor, and saving the life of a Jedi. He was fatally wounded, but he died as a Jedi, because he'd saved a lot of lives, and he was the one to end the tyranny of Sidious." Leia told her.

Talon's gaze drifted slowly to the floor as she thought about what had just been said. She could still hear the words as if they had just been uttered.

"_Strong in the Force, and skilled beyond your pitiful imaginations; Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith was a perfect example of what each and every last one of you pathetic wretches should aspire to become! If any of you should ever become a tenth of what Lord Vader was, then you will truly be worthy of the title of Sith!"_

"Darth Magus always told us that all Sith should try to be like Lord Vader, because he was a perfect Sith, but now she's telling me that Lord Vader died a Jedi. Which one is right?" So great was the confusion running rampant through Talon's mind that she didn't realize she'd spoken the words aloud.

As soon as she heard that softly muttered question; Leia knew she had the girl right where she wanted her. The only thing left to do was drive the point home, and Leia knew the perfect method to accomplish that goal. Taking the girl's chin in her right hand; Leia looked straight into those eyes that glowed with the golden hue of the darkside.

"Talon, I'd like you to listen to me very carefully. As much as I would love to have Darth Magus at the end of my lightsaber so I could kill him for what he did, not only to you but the others as well; he and I agree on one thing. You _should_ try to be like Darth Vader!" Leia told her firmly.

Both Talon and Han were gaping at the Jedi Knight in astonishment. Neither of the two could believe their ears. Both had questions they wanted answered, however, it was Han who found his voice first.

"_What_? Leia, you can't be serious! You _want_ her to be like Vader? What about the torture he put you through and the carbon freezing that he put me through? No, forget about what he did to _us_! What about what he did to _Alderaan_? Remember the entire world full of innocent people that got blown up? What about that? What about _them_?" Han demanded angrily.

As soon as the man started yelling, Talon quickly slipped from Leia's grasp and began backing away while trying not to be noticed. She could feel the man's anger burning through the Force like a lightsaber, and she did not want to become a target for that anger.

Leia calmly waited until her husband finished yelling before she spoke. When she did; her voice was calm but firm, and it was obvious that she was not to be argued with.

"Yes I do want her to be like Vader. Because in the end; Vader turned away from the darkside, and turned his back on the teachings of the Sith, and that is _exactly_ what I want _her_ to do! Vader wasn't the one to give the order that destroyed Alderaan; that was Tarkin, and Vader had nothing to do with it, and I was there, remember? Before he ever became a Sith; he was a renowned Jedi. A renowned hero of the clone wars, and not even all the years of the evil teachings of Sidious could fully erase the good in him. I'll admit that it took me years to understand that, but Luke knew it, and brought him back to the light side of the Force. _That_ is what I want from her; to become the kind of Jedi that Anakin Skywalker, who _became_ Vader, would be proud of. The kind of Jedi that _we_ can be proud of." Leia finished softly.

Han took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked around while his anger drained out of him. When he could finally trust himself to speak calmly again, he looked over at his wife and nodded.

"I can live with that." Han said at last. "But what if..."

"We aren't going to let that happen." Leia said firmly; cutting off any objection he'd been about to make.

"Are you sure about this? I mean look at what's happened in the past. Look at those who went to the darkside in spite of everything they were taught." Han protested.

Leia pointed over at the small form huddled under the workstation, trying to hide as best she could. "Look at her, Han. Really look at her. She hasn't hurt anyone. How many people do we know that are out there walking around freely, who deserve a fate worse than death? Pallaeon was a perfect example. As an Imperial he was just as ruthless as the rest of them, but he turned out to be a highly a respected, fair, and honest leader at the end. Talon deserves a chance, Han. The same chance that everyone else gets, even when half the galaxy _knows_ they don't deserve it."

The Corellian sighed heavily. He'd lost this argument before it ever began, and now he knew it. The only thing left for him to do was figure out where to go from here.

"You're right." Han admitted grudgingly. "I just don't want to see another war get started because someone decides that they're entitled to be the next Emperor." He finished heavily.

"I know. I don't want that either. That's why we need to do this Han; so _she_ won't want that." Leia agreed. "Look, you and I won't be alone in this. Already several others have met her and are willing to help. Together, we can make sure that she doesn't turn out to be another Palpatine, or even someone like Alema Rar. Besides, if we don't try to help her, then we're no better than those who did this to her, and I couldn't live with that. Plus, there would be a greater chance that it would happen."

"Okay, so what's next?" Han asked after thinking it over.

"Breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm starved, and she needs to eat as well." Leia replied with a smile.

Talon had been watching and listening to every word that was said. She could feel their strong emotions through the Force, and knew that both were angry. But then, the yelling stopped and both of them somehow put aside their anger, and replaced it with an emotion that she had never sensed before.

Being unable to close herself off from the Force; Talon was able to almost _see_ the emotion emanating from the two people in the room. It was like a stream of energy flowing from one to the other that would linger for a brief moment before flowing back again; linking the two in a cycle that had no end. It was similar to the feeling that the female Jedi had shown her when the woman was in her mind, but intensified to an incredible degree.

Talon had no idea what this emotion was, but now that she was aware of it; she realized that it completely engulfed both of the people she was watching. Instead of seeming to consume them in the way that she'd seen anger and hate do to some of the Masters and Wielders on Korriban, this strange new emotion was flowing from one to the other, feeding and sustaining them, strengthening them. Talon had never once seen anything like this. There was nothing remotely hostile about the emotion the two she was watching shared, but at the same time; it was as strong as hate, rage, or fear. Not knowing what else to do, Talon sat there, huddled under the workstation, waiting to find out what would happen next.

Han turned his attention from his wife to the girl who'd been the source of the heated discussion. He stepped to the center of the girl's room to get a better look at her, and frowned at what he saw. In spite of four lightsabers hooked to the girl's belt, and all the crazy Force things that he knew both Sith and Jedi could do; she was cowering away from him. With her knees pulled up to her chest, hands braced on the floor, and literally trembling, Han could see that the girl was more than prepared to make a break for it. It was something that got his attention. What really pounded it home to him was that she was obviously scared of him, as if _he_ were the one that the galaxy needed to be afraid of. Han knew for an absolute fact that he'd never done anything to the girl that was watching him as if she fully expected him to sprout horns, fangs, and claws before trying to devour her.

Imperial officer, criminal, smuggler, rebel, General, and father; he'd been each and every one of them, and never in any of those roles in his life had he ever given a child any type of reason to be that scared. He knew that he had a reputation in certain circles as being someone to avoid tangling with, but he had the distinct impression that this girl knew nothing about him. Never in his entire life had Han Solo ever seen a child cower away from him in the way that this one was, and that disturbed him. He knew that when his own children had been that small, that he'd always been more of a friend to them, than a figure of authority. He knew that he was good with kids, and gained their trust and friendship easily, but seeing one this afraid, afraid of _him,_ hurt in a way that he would never be able to explain.

Squatting down on his heels, he rested his forearms on his knees and looked at her for a couple of seconds. Then, he began slowly turning his head as he looked first over his left shoulder and then over his right shoulder as if searching for someone behind him. Finally looking back at the girl a couple of meters in front of him; Han's face assumed his patented expression of wounded innocence, and he pointed to his chest in that classic 'who me?' gesture of his. Han heard a snort of suppressed laughter from his wife as Talon's face twisted in confusion.

"You're not scared of _me_ are you?" He asked while making sure that his tone matched the expression on his face.

Han carefully maintained his expression while watching the girl closely. He could see confusion vying with apprehension in the expression on her face, as she nodded silently. Han didn't have to pretend to look hurt as he shook his head slightly.

"You shouldn't be scared of me; I never hurt anyone unless they're trying to mess with my friends or family, sometimes not even then." Han told her.

Talon was confused. She couldn't help it, because just a few short minutes ago, the man in front of her had been very angry and was yelling; now he was acting as if _she_ had somehow hurt _him_. Talon couldn't understand why she was sensing something similar to pain from him, when she knew that she hadn't done anything to him. Not knowing what to do, Talon slid a glance over at the female who'd been helping her.

Leia watched with a small amount of amusement as her husband used his own unique methods to coax Talon out of her spot. While she couldn't see the girl very clearly with the workstation directly over her head; Leia couldn't miss the unnatural golden glow emanating from the girl's eyes. When Talon looked at her with an unspoken question clearly written on her face, Leia smiled and nodded her encouragement to the girl.

Talon saw the woman smile, and while she knew that such an expression usually meant that pain or something equally bad was headed her way; she was beginning to recognize that coming from Leia, a smile meant something else entirely. She looked back at the man in front of her, certain that he wanted her to do something, but she didn't know what it was.

Han was neither blind nor stupid; he knew fear when he saw it, and the girl who was trying to hide under the workstation was scared, and he realized that she wasn't just scared of him; she was scared of a lot more than that. He knew that his little trick had gotten through some of her fear to arouse her curiosity; so now he just needed to capitalize on that.

"Now you wouldn't want to try to hurt Leia or one of my friends now would you?" Han asked her gently.

"N... no." Talon stammered shaking her head while wondering where the man had gotten that idea from.

"See? That's what I mean. As long as you don't try to hurt me or the people I care about; then you've got nothing to be afraid of. So, come on. Let's go get something to eat, besides, Leia turns into a real rancor when she's hungry." Han finished in a light joking tone.

"Han, don't start with the teasing. She won't understand that you don't mean it." Leia warned him while keeping a light tone in her voice for Talon's benefit.

Han wasn't all that sure that he'd heard her correctly; because he knew that it had to be an unwritten law of the universe that all children were familiar with jokes.

"Come on, Leia. Are you seriously telling me that this kid's got no sense of humor?" Han demanded using the thumb of his left hand to point at Talon while looking at his wife.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure that the only 'fun' she's ever participated in; was being on the receiving end of someone else's idea of it, and that was always some form of what they called 'punishment' or what we'd call torture." Leia corrected in a seemingly sweet tone of voice.

Han felt his blood run cold in an instant. It wasn't just her words that caused it, but rather the underlying steel in his wife's tone. It was that unique tone of voice she used, which, while sweet and gentle, was a hundred kilometers of solid duraloy underneath. Han realized that she was really serious about not cracking any jokes, so he decided that it was time to sit back and size Talon up in the same way that he would have examined a blockade that he would have needed to run during his days as a smuggler.

"Okay then. Looks like it's your turn." Han stated with a smug grin and a welcoming gesture towards Talon that said 'be my guest'.

Leia glanced at her husband and could easily see that he didn't think she'd fare any better than he had. She shook her head slightly. There was no way that she was going to allow this to turn into one of their little competitions; not when there was a person's life at the center of it.

"Talon, I need you to come here so I can show Han something." Leia instructed calmly.

Talon obeyed the command, but kept her attention focused on the man in front of her as she slid out from under the workstation. She got to her feet, and saw him do the same. As she walked over to where Leia was sitting on her bed, Talon made sure to keep an eye on the man who'd been so angry just a moment ago. This was the second time that she'd seen these Jedi get angry and start yelling without any type of fight breaking out, and as hard as she tried; she couldn't understand any of it.

With Talon standing in front of her and keeping an apprehensive eye on Han; Leia motioned her husband over.

"Take a look at her eyes and tell me what that means to you." Leia told Han.

"That was one of the first things I noticed about her, and to be honest; it's hard not to notice. It means she's turned to the darkside." Han replied without even bothering to look.

"Not exactly, Han. That type of change can be caused by the strong influence of any negative emotion with anger or hate merely being the most common cause; in Talon's case however, it's caused by fear. The color change is only evident, and only occurs when the mind of someone trained in the use of the Force allows a strong negative emotion to firmly dominate their mind, but with Talon; the majority of her thoughts and actions are guided by fear. The color of her eyes is a really good indication of just how strong that fear is, and how scared she really is. That's why I'm hoping to get someone assigned to counsel her in order to help alleviate some of that fear." Leia informed him.

"What a minute! From what I've seen, and what little I know; it takes a hell of a lot of hate to make someone's eyes change. So just what the hell is she so scared of that would cause her eyes to change color like that?" Han demanded suspiciously.

"Everyone. Her Sith Masters, other Sith students, anyone and everyone who has anything to do with the Order, you, me, and anyone else that she's likely to run into. She's been starved and tormented in a deliberate attempt to force her into complete submission, and it seems to have worked, but she's not a lost cause, and I believe that she can be helped." Leia answered evenly.

"Come on, Leia. Everyone? What reason does she have to be scared of me? I've never done anything to her." Han asked doubtfully.

"Han, every adult or Master she's ever known, was involved in tormenting her, and every other student she's ever known was either an assailant who took her food away from her by force, or one who was victimized in the same manner; which means that she doesn't have any reason _not_ to be afraid of everyone she meets, and yes, that includes you and I as well. Receiving brutally painful punishment for infractions and sometimes for no reason at all, is something that she's had to live with and even come to expect from almost everyone. It's not going to be enough to tell her that we're different; we'll have to prove it repeatedly over time." Leia answered heavily.

"It's beginning to sound like we flew straight into the maw on this one." Han muttered sourly after a heavy sigh.

"I know, and I also realize that it just might get worse before it gets any better." Leia replied grimly.

One look at his wife, and Han knew that she wouldn't even consider the alternative of turning the problem that Talon presented over to someone else.

"So Princess… what do we do now?" Han asked conveniently changing the subject.

"Now, we go grab that breakfast. I don't know about you, but it's been a very long day for me, and I'm going to need some more caf before I face the Council with that briefing." Leia replied as she stood up, strode across the room, picked up Talon's cloak, and offered it to her.

Talon took the proffered cloak and put it on, pulling the hood low over her head in such a way that the amber glow from her eyes could be clearly seen from the shadowed depths. She knew that the two had been talking about her, but what had her attention was the strange way the man felt in the Force. There was a huge difference in the way she felt their presence. Leia presented a strong bright essence in the Force; while Han on the other hand, was somehow subdued, and dim. It was almost as if he wasn't entirely there. Talon had never encountered anyone with a Force presence like his before, and it was more than a little unnerving. She could sense the Force flowing from him and through him, but it wasn't flowing _into_ him, and that was what she didn't understand.

When Talon saw the two start to leave; she moved to follow them, but not before summoning her training weapons to her hand. She'd gathered the two weapons without even thinking about it, because of the painful lessons she'd been taught after being caught without them. No sooner did she have the weapons in her hands, when the woman in front of her stopped. The Jedi just stood there as if she were waiting for something, and it took Talon a few seconds to realize what it was.

Talon looked down at the floor and reluctantly used the Force to send her training weapons back to their place on the floor next to her bed. Talon knew that she'd committed several infractions since she'd arrived, and she was sure that this was just one more item added to a growing list.

"Very good, Talon." Leia told her without turning around.

When they entered the cafeteria, Leia led them to a table in a corner near the entrance where she could keep an eye on the council chamber; knowing that Talon would be distracted by what she saw if they sat near the windows.

While she waited for the server droid to come take their order, Leia looked around the cafeteria.

While not particularly full; the cafeteria wasn't empty either. A few dozen students were fumbling through their breakfasts, with several of them appearing to still be half asleep. Leia smiled to herself as she recalled how tired she'd been on some mornings after Saba had put her through a tough bout of physical training the day before. The scattered Knights and Masters that she saw were all preparing themselves for whatever awaited them in the coming day. Some were discussing the progress, or lack of it in certain students that they were working with, others were simply taking the opportunity to relax while they had the chance.

All in all, it was a typical morning at the academy, and while Leia couldn't say that she missed it, since she'd never really gone though it during her own training, it did somehow fill her with a sense of normalcy. She exchanged a few nods of greeting with some of those that she knew, and strangely, the activity going on around her helped to steady her mind and allowed her to gather her thoughts.

Leia barely noticed the arrival of the server droid, but Han didn't hesitate. He placed his order and knowing his wife's preferences, placed hers as well. Leia noticed Talon hesitate when it was her turn to order, but then the girl repeated the same order that Han had placed for her. Leia listened with interest as Talon had to think about the unfamiliar words, but was satisfied to see that Talon was at least trying to adapt to unfamiliar conditions.

"Bring Talon two eggs instead of one." Leia instructed the droid after Talon had ordered.

While she would never openly admit to such; Leia knew that her own metabolism had slown down with age, and she had to watch her weight more closely than she had when she was younger. She knew that Talon on the other hand, was not only young, but had been given several injections to crank up her metabolism to not only correct her malnourished condition, but also help fuel the girl's pubescent growth spurt in an effort to counter some of the stunting caused by the starvation that had occurred throughout the girl's life thus far.

When the droid returned with their food; Han immediately began sipping his caf, while Leia took the time to add cream and sweetener to hers. During her lesson in table manners the previous evening; Leia had shown her the proper method of adding such things to her caf, but Han wasn't drinking it that way. Talon wasn't sure if she would get in trouble for trying it like that or not, so she went ahead and reached for the cream to add it to her caf.

"Hey kid. You know you don't have to add that stuff if you don't want to. Some people drink it that way because they don't have the stomach to drink it straight." Han said noticing the girl's indecisive hesitation.

"Talon, there are a lot of different ways that people drink their caf. There is no right or wrong way to prefer it. If you want to add cream and sweetener; then go ahead. If you want to drink it straight; then you can do that too." Leia told Talon before turning to her husband. "And as far as _her_ stomach goes Dear; don't test her. Because I know for a fact that she's willing to eat things a Wookie wouldn't touch, and I don't want to discuss it right now because I'd like to keep my breakfast down. Thank you!"

"You're kidding right?" Han asked with a grin thinking his wife was joking.

"No; I'm not! And I don't want to discuss it." Leia said firmly.

The Jedi was about to say more when she saw her husband grimace in disgust. Following his gaze, she saw Talon dumping enough cream and sweetener in her caf to flavor three or four pots of the stuff. The girl had obviously drank it down some in order to be able to put that much in, and that was when Leia realized that the more Talon drank, the more cream and sweetener she added. Leia cringed when she realized this, and knew that even if Talon didn't mind drinking it that way; others would have a hard time watching her drink it like that. Leia shook her head with distaste, but declined to say anything to the girl as she figured that there were some things that Talon would have to learn on her own.

When Han saw that his wife wasn't surprised by Talon's actions, he turned towards Leia, intending to ask a question, but apparently thought better of it. If she wasn't concerned by what Talon was doing; why should he say anything?

Talon's eyes widened in their sockets as the shockingly intense and unbelievably sweet taste of the concoction she'd created hit her. Even after she swallowed; the flavor was still stuck in her mouth. She was so surprised at the intensity of it that she set her cup down for a minute.

"That's why small amounts are sometimes best Talon. It's one of those things that you needed to learn for yourself." Leia said as she tried to keep from laughing at the girl's reaction to what must have been very little caf at all.

Leia knew that it was like something out of a fairly harmless prank, and one that any number of the students would have tried, and while normally funny, this was a learning experience for Talon.

"You know, you _could_ try adding more caf to it, but as much as you've got in there; I don't know if it's going to help or not." Han suggested in wry tone.

Talon thought about the man's suggestion, before giving the cup a second try. This time instead of just sipping at it, she gulped it down as fast as she could. Once again; the overpowering sweet taste of her concoction hit her taste buds. To both Han and Leia's consternation; Talon didn't stop until she'd drained her cup.

Han couldn't help staring stupidly at the girl as she sat her now empty cup down and licked her lips.

"Tell me she didn't like that." Han muttered to himself.

"Who knows? I'm not asking her, just in case she did."

Once the three of them had finished eating, they sat at the table drinking caf while Leia waited to see if she would be summoned to the Council meeting. She'd seen the various Council members make their way into the specially built meeting room and a pair of Jedi take up a guarding position outside the doors while she was still eating, so she knew that it shouldn't be too much longer.


	7. Chapter 7

SW 7

Jedi Master and Council member Kyle Katarn took his seat at the table in the council chamber. He knew that there was only one reason that this unscheduled meeting had been called on such a short notice. That reason was Talon. His first encounter with the girl had been during a spur of the moment saber training class the previous morning, when a tiny slip of a girl had put the fear of death into him with nothing more than superior skill and a training saber. He knew that he was entirely to blame for the results. The failure was entirely his, and he was not going to turn away from it, or make any excuses. He knew that he should have asked a few more questions before jumping into the thick of things, and this would serve as a valuable lesson for the future. His most serious regret about the whole thing was that someone else had to suffer for his mistake. It was a mistake that he would not make again.

He'd had a second encounter with the girl last night after she'd gone through a session of saber practice and displayed a host of saber skills the likes of which Kyle had never heard of, forget about having actually seen. He'd had at least something of a conversation with her afterwards, and what he'd learned in it had not been pleasant.

Now he was about to take part in a meeting to decide whether or not this girl; who'd been trained by a faction of Sith that no one had even known about; would be accepted for training as a Jedi. Kyle knew that it wasn't going to be an easy decision for some, and a very touchy issue for others, but he was going to put forth every effort to ensure that this was one Sith who wouldn't end up trying to take over the galaxy.

Kyle waited in silence as the other council members entered and took their seats. It didn't take long for Kenth Hamner to take his. The acting Grand Master looked grim and dour as he sipped at the cup of caf he'd brought with him. Soon all of the Council members had taken their seats, and Kyle noted that several had brought their own cups of caf with them, indicating that they thought this might be a fairly long discussion.

"This isn't a typical meeting, and I don't think a lot of useless banter is going to help matters any, so I'll get right to the point. We have a Sith fighter craft parked out on the landing pad, and the pilot, who has been confirmed as a Sith, is here at this academy." Master Hamner began.

At the mention of the title of Sith, several of the council members began casting surreptitious glances around the table trying to figure out if anyone else knew of this. There had been varied reactions to that little piece of news, ranging from raised eyebrows to expressions of curiosity.

"I'd like to see a show of hands from those who know anything about this Sith, and what possible threat she might pose to this order. Then we'll hear from each of them, and discuss that information. Afterwards, we can bring in Jedi Solo to hear and discuss what information she has on this matter, since she's apparently the one who made initial contact and brought the Sith here. After that, we'll hopefully have enough information to make an informed decision as to what to do about this Sith." Hamner continued.

As he looked around the table Master Hamner noted that only three hands were raised in acknowledgement. "Okay then, Let's start at my left and work to the right. Master Katarn, it looks like you're up first."

"I can't say that I know a whole lot about her. One thing I know for certain is that her saber skills can easily out match anyone in this room." Kyle received several disbelieving looks at this. "I can also tell you that she's terrified of what the future might hold for her. She was taught a lot of Sith propaganda and I know that she was taught some disinformation as well. She's been raised on nothing but emergency rations, and wasn't always allowed to keep those that were actually given to her. She's been tortured repeatedly and relentlessly by those above her; she's terrified of us, meaning Jedi, and she's got this... _Thing_ that she does where she goes off somewhere in the Force, and it feels exactly like she's just died when she does it. Trust me! It's really disturbing." Kyle finished.

"This one agreez! She does not have much to add except that the youngling has been given reason to fear us, and that the youngling has been denied the sanctity of her own mind. This one wishez to add that she is willing to help with the youngling if she is allowed to stay." Master Sebatyne joined in.

"Wait just a minute here! Are we talking about a child? And one that's been mind raped at that?" Master Ramis interrupted angrily.

"Unfortunately, the answer to both of your questions is yes. Talon is thirteen standard years old according to her cellular development. From what I've personally witnessed, she has not only been constantly subjected to forced mental invasions, but actually experienced being brutally raped repeatedly through the use of those invasions." The healer was forced to stop by comments of outrage made by a few of those present, while others were able to hold their silence.

"The only thing good that I can say about her condition is that she was never actually physically raped. Although she has certainly suffered enough of that during mental invasions that she is now terrified of it. Her state of malnutrition is advanced enough that I had to give her both mineral injections as well as a series of fairly strong metabolic enhancers to speed up her absorption of the minerals that she's lacking. Her state of malnutrition has been prolonged enough that it has also retarded her physical development. Although she would normally have entered puberty by this stage of her life, that hasn't happened because of near constant starvation and malnutrition. So, she's thirteen years of age, but she has yet to actually enter puberty or begin her first fertility cycle. That is part of what the metabolic enhancers are for. Those enhancers will also speed up her digestion, and some minor levels of hormones may help boost her growth rate to counter her small stature. Her bones are extremely brittle from a total lack of exposure to natural sunlight and are easily broken as evidenced by yesterday's mishap resulting in a compound fracture to both bones of her lower left leg. Once she is allowed to resume normal physical activity, she'll still have to be monitored, because she has adapted to a much colder environment. She maintains a standard core temperature of one hundred and eight point nine degrees. In a cold environment like Korriban, that's not a problem, but here, with our temperature ranges, it could easily prove fatal. As serious as her physical condition is, I am currently more concerned about her emotional state of mind. Talon seems to be terrified of everyone she meets, and I'm certain that there is a valid cause for that fear, but I haven't had any real chance to talk with her about it. I did notice one thing about her that was odd. She is somehow able to use her strength in the Force to augment the strength of another. She used the technique with me during my second session of Force healing on her leg. I apologize for the fact that as of yet, I can only relay information on her medical condition, but for now I will say that she is in no condition to be considered a threat at this time." Master Cilghal said as concisely as she could.

Seeing that the Mon Cal was finished Master Octa Ramis spoke up. "Am I the only one here that would like more information on this Sith before we try to reach any type of a decision? Has anyone asked her what _she_ wants? Talking to her would have to reveal something at least, even if it's nothing more than pure hatred."

"As much as I'm the one who usually disagrees with everything, I'm going to have to put that aside until I've got more to go on. Just because she's a Sith, doesn't mean she can't be turned." Master Durron added.

Master Hamner nodded his head in agreement. "Very well. Master Katarn, would you mind asking Jedi Solo to join us?"

Upon his return to the chambers, Master Katarn was seen to step aside to allow Leia to precede him into the room. Although the man's manner was friendly, Leia wasn't too sure if she was being shown courtesy and politeness by being allowed to go first or if she was being led to the proverbial executioner. She knew that she was more than a little nervous, after all, a young girl's fate was entirely hinged on what was about to take place, and anything she might say would have a definite effect on any decision that was made.

Leia noted that they were using the informal meeting room, which was standard across the galaxy, rather than the formal Council room made to replicate the Council chamber of the original Jedi Council. To her, this was a good sign, it meant that she would be able and allowed to argue her position as she felt best rather than simply receive her instructions and have them expected to be carried out.

When Master Hamner gestured for her to take one of the empty seats between Masters Durron and Ramis, she took the one next to Kyp.

"Let me fill you in on what's taken place. We've heard from Master's Katarn, Cilghal, and Sebatyne regarding what they know about Talon, I believe her name is. So, why don't you tell us what you know about her, since you think she needs to become a part of this order." Master Hamner instructed in a much friendlier manner than Leia had expected.

Leia nodded her head and took a deep breath before she began. "I guess I need to give you some background information on the Sith who trained her, so I'll start there, and then move on to what I know about her background, and then my observations on her."

"That sounds fair enough." Master Hamner said reasonably.

"This faction of Sith traces almost right back to Palpatine himself. Darth Tyranus, whom we know was also Count Dooku, took an apprentice that he kept secret from Palpatine. This apprentice took the title of Darth Magus. What his original identity was, I don't know. I do know that Tyranus provided the funding for the project, and allowed Magus to see it through. They gathered up many Force sensitives at a young age, and used the Force to wipe away their memory of who they'd been. He trained the first group into Sith Masters, well those that survived anyway. His journal speaks of killing some of them with Force lightning while punishing them. He seems to have taken a lot of sick pleasure in tormenting his students. To the point that near the end, he may have been more concerned with tormenting them than training them. I've read his own account of how he would torture some of his students in his effort to perfect his Force lightning techniques so that he could subject someone to it for hours _without_ killing them! The constant food shortage was just one of his many methods of causing misery for his students. He took up the practice of raping the minds of his students, and after discovering that it left them bereft of any mental defenses, all of the students were subjected to it. Females were constantly and repeatedly forced to experience what it would feel like to be forcibly bred by a Kel Dor, although he didn't mention what he did to the males."

At this point Leia had to pause because of angry outbursts by those who were listening. During the impromptu break, Leia took the opportunity to make a subtle signal to the server droid to bring her a cup of caf. Pulling out the flask of Corellian Brandy, she made no excuse for adding a shot of liquor to her caf. She placed the bottle on the table and sipped at her cup before she spoke again.

"You might want to help yourselves to some of that, because the rest of this is going to be rough." Leia told them bluntly.

"This gets _worse_?" Master Hamner asked in a tone that clearly said he didn't believe that it could.

"Oh yes. Much worse. Darth Magus didn't even teach any of his students how to use the refreshers, or environmental controls either. They froze constantly, and he thought that it was highly amusing to deny any of them clothing until they had earned their place as a Sith. Later he began to divide them in to two groups. Those who had successfully defended themselves from his mental attacks would learn to mentally control or 'wield' those who couldn't. The 'fighters' as the failures were called were trained in just a few areas. Saber skills, telekinetics, Force athletics, Force strengthening, and Force augmentation. Anything and everything else to do with the Force was left completely out of their education. These 'Fighters' as they were called were basically intended to be cannon fodder. Any females among the Fighters who happened to be strong in the Force were actually raped until pregnant in order to create the next generation of Sith. He doesn't mention neutering or castrating male Fighters, but he stated that he would not allow them to breed. Essentially it was only the Masters and 'Wielders' who held any privileges or authority. The Fighters on the other hand were subjected to torment from everyone else. Darth Magus taught them a version of history that was not only rife with lies, but filled with the tyranny and sadism of the Jedi order. As cruelly as she was treated by the Sith, Talon has been taught and led to believe that we are _far_ worse. The bad part is that he had come to hate her specifically. There are several entries that speak of her, and Darth Magus refers to Talon as a failure, and one that was only valuable for her saber skills. He even stated that it might be fun to see her reaction to actually being raped before she was killed. I don't know why exactly, because I only skimmed through the journal, but this Magus truly hated Talon. Magus procured several hundred tons of beskar to create special training weapons that weighed a full one thousand kilograms each. "

"How the stang can someone even use a weapon like that?" Master Durron interrupted angrily.

"Apparently quite effectively. Talon has used those weapons to master all seven forms of lightsaber combat known to us and even pioneer an eighth form called Whirlus. It's a Jar Kai version of the saberstaff technique where she wields a double bladed lightsaber in each hand. Those training weapons are also what saved her life."

"Okay why don't you fill us in on this 'tragedy' you mentioned to me yesterday. How can we be absolutely _sure_ that there aren't more Sith out there?" Master Hamner suggested.

"Talon's remarkable saber skills are the results of training almost constantly; four hours per session, three sessions per day for several years now." Leia began once more after taking a deep breath.

Jedi Master Corran Horn interrupted with a low whistle. "With that kind of practice time under her belt, it's no wonder she's so skilled."

"Exactly. But those skills were put to their ultimate test when enough tarentatek charged up out of the lower caverns to slaughter four thousand Sith. A fair number of them may well have had combat skills similar to those possessed by Talon. Talon witnessed the death of Darth Magus herself."

"According to the records, tarentatek are almost completely immune to both the Force and most energy weapons. So how did Talon manage to survive?" Master Tionne Solusar asked with interest.

"Well there _is_ a big difference between a lightsaber and a full ton of beskar being slammed upside your head." Leia replied with a rueful snicker.

There were several snorts of amusement along with a couple of chuckles at that response.

"I encountered Talon when her fighter dropped out of hyperspace in front of The Alderaan after her ship ran out of fuel. The ship was brought in by tractor beam and I met it in the shuttle bay. Talon was inside and unconscious. She was wearing nothing but a belt to hold the lightsabers that she'd scavenged and some rags from some kind of clothing tied around her feet. She was completely covered in the toxic gore of the tarentatek that she'd killed in her escape. I found a claw from one of the creatures wedged in a tear on the hull and had to use the Force to pry it out. DNA mapping showed me what it was from. So I decided to try to examine Talon's memories." Leia explained in a flat factual tone.

She paused to take another sip of her spiked caf and a deep breath before she continued.

"I know that I'm not fully trained in such techniques, but I wanted to find out just what kind of threat she represented. The moment I saw her slumped in that cockpit, I'd sent a mental message to my brother, and asked him to bring some back up just in case. I found myself wandering through Talon's mind far too easily. With my small amount of training in that area, it should have been much tougher even with her unconscious. Darth Magus knew exactly what he was doing when he set out to strip her of all mental defenses, because that's exactly what he did. But believe it or not, that actually helped save her life, because it also means that there's nothing to interfere with her connection to the Force."

"Wait a minute! What do you mean by 'nothing to interfere'? Explain please." Master Hamner interjected.

"Talon was raised on nothing but emergency rations, so she's never been exposed to tableware before, so I was instructing her in the use of dining etiquette last night. Afterwards we were just sitting there and I knew that if I tried to actively probe her that she'd immediately tense up and get scared. So I tried to use a method that I'd seen her employ. I let down my guards, all of my own defenses, and just let the Force flow into me bringing whatever it had to offer. I found that when there aren't any guarded thoughts or barriers that have been ingrained into us through training, in the way, that you can achieve a much stronger connection to the Force. She has no defenses; no way to hide her thoughts or emotions; no way to stop the Force from flowing in to her mind, and it gives her a much stronger connection to the Force than you can imagine. It's interesting in that while her strength in the Force isn't very strong at all, her _connection_ to the Force may well be as strong as Luke's, or possibly even stronger, because there isn't anything to impede it. I was able to duplicate it to a small extent, but nowhere near as effectively as she can." Leia answered before sipping at her caf again.

"While I was in her mind on board The Alderaan, I witnessed her escape from Korriban from beginning to end. Exhausted, terrified, and alone against an army of creatures that had already killed everyone she'd ever known, she made a move of sheer desperation and gave herself up entirely to the Force. She held nothing back, and the Force prevailed where any of us and I'm sure all of us would have not only failed, but died. Her first reaction to finding out that I was a Jedi was an attempt to flee to safety. I hate to say this, but as much as she was traumatized by what happened, it was actually for the best, because Darth Magus was planning to kill her as soon as he felt he couldn't learn any more from her." Leia finished sadly.

"She knew." It was spoken softly, almost a whisper, but everyone in the room clearly heard Kyle Katarn utter those words in sadness.

"_What_?" Leia demanded instantly.

Master Katarn sighed heavily. "She knew he was planning to kill her. I won't say who it was, but it seems that someone gave her too much caf last night before sending her to bed. She couldn't sleep so she headed to the training arena for a workout. I was in the observation booth reviewing the security vids from yesterday morning when she started a little practice session using remotes at a fairly low power. She put herself through more than forty five minutes of the most intense round of saber drills I've ever seen anyone go through. She was even holding off at least a couple dozen remotes with Ataru. Between witnessing that display of skill, and watching the security vid in slow motion, I know for a fact that she could have killed me with that training saber yesterday if that had been her intention. But that's beside my point. She was using a pair of metal rods which I'm guessing are the training weapons that she brought with her from Korriban, when Knight Skywalker walked in on her. I couldn't hear exactly what was said but apparently they agreed to a sparring match."

"After I specifically gave instructions that she's not even to _practice_ her skills in any way! Is she _trying_ to end up in a bacta tank? A mere slip and fall could potentially crush her cranial structure and kill her!" Master Cilghal interrupted vehemently.

"I know, I know. That's almost the same thing I said to her." Kyle said holding up his hand to ward off the healer's temper. "Anyway, I got down there as fast as I could, but I was too late. Ben had already figured something was up when he couldn't get through her defense and she didn't cut him to pieces with that red saber she was using. Anyway, I figured it might be a good chance to talk to her a bit, maybe get to know her a little better, find out some info, that kind of thing. I asked Ben to come along to help, thinking that his skills at questioning might be of use. I'd asked her why she'd disobeyed your instructions, and she told us that she was trying to get tired so she could sleep. Between Ben and I, we finally figured out that she'd had too much caf. She'd never had it before, and six cups of it was a bit more than she could handle."

"Who..." Cilghal began when she was cut off by Leia.

"That would be my fault. I'm sorry. I knew that I was probably going to be up most of the night and that I'd need the caf to stay alert while pouring over that thrice blasted journal. I didn't even think of what effect it might have on Talon." Leia apologized.

"You'll have to be very careful with what you do give her. Those metabolic enhancers will ensure that her body processes everything at a highly accelerated rate. Things like stimulants or intoxicants will hit her harder and faster than normal." Cilghal warned.

Kyle cleared his throat and rubbed a hand across his beard. "Well that explains some of it. I gave her a half cup of fermented juma juice to counter all the caffeine in her system. But I also gave her a couple of sandwiches and three glasses of bantha milk to soak it up." Kyle added the last hastily to fend off the half lidded glare that Cilghal had directed at him.

"Anyway when that stuff hit her she started, well... _rambling_ is the only word that fits. So Ben and I asked her a few questions, and she gave us an earful. Among other things she talked about, she told us how she started learning the double staff technique." Kyle explained.

"Yes I read about that, it was in an effort to humiliate her." Leia commented.

"Exactly! She knew that as well, but she went on to explain how she knew that while she was a 'valuable resource' as she called it, she also knew that Darth Magus hated her and was going to kill her as soon as he'd learned everything he could from her. That was why she had to keep pushing herself to stay better than he was. She knew that her life depended on her skills being better than his." Kyle explained sadly.

"Such is not the type of life any youngling should have! This one thinks she should be accepted for Jedi training. She is sure that such training will bring the youngling into the light." Saba suggested firmly.

"The question I want answered is; _can_ she be brought to the light?" Kenth asked of no one in particular. "I think we should talk to Talon herself, and see if we can get a solid answer to that question."

"This one agreez. Once questioned, she is sure that you will see the potential in the youngling." Saba said ruffling her scales.

"Before you do that there are some more things you'll need to keep in mind. When you speak to her, _always_ begin with her name. We'll need to reinforce to her that it _is_ her name. Among the Sith, only those who had attained a rank as a 'wielder' were allowed to have a name. 'The Talon of the Sith' was a title sometimes given to her by her fellow students, and one of the Masters. Giving that to her as a name further demonstrates that we are not like what she was taught. She does have a measure of curiosity and eagerness to learn, but she's timid about it. Ignorance was just another excuse for punishment, and a question showed that ignorance. Above all try to avoid any display of anger when you talk to her. She's terrified of us because of what she's been taught and right now, her fear completely dominates her mind. Most of what made her a failure among the Sith was an apparent inability to hate or even become angered. Eye contact was considered to be a challenge to authority and power so don't be surprised if she doesn't look at you. That's all I can think of at the moment. I just hope that you're willing to give her the chance she deserves." Leia said candidly as she stood up to leave.

"Just where do you think you're going? You haven't been dismissed, nor have you been asked to leave. _You_ brought this girl to us, Leia; therefore _you_ will be the one to sponsor her application. You will be held accountable for both her _and_ her actions. It has been suggested that if we are to accept this Sith for training to become a Jedi, then _you_ should be the person responsible for her training regimen. Is that understood?" Master Hamner's tone was full of amusement but firm none the less.

Leia gaped at the acting Grand Master in stark disbelief. "You're promoting me to Master?" she asked in a near whisper.

"If Talon is accepted, then yes. I see no reason to burden another Master with the load of potential problems that Talon would represent as a student. As you said yourself during our confrontation yesterday, you're the one who's most familiar with her case, her history, and her mental state; therefore, you would be the best choice for the position. Besides, this will be a good exercise for you." Master Hamner answered with a sly grin.

Leia sat down heavily in her chair. She'd anticipated the possibility of being ordered to work with the girl as an assistant to whichever Master the girl was assigned to, but the possibility of being promoted to the rank of Master had never entered her mind. While the possibility came as a shock, it also came as quite a relief as well. This promotion would mean that Talon would be taking her primary instructions from someone who understood her to some extent.

Leia nodded slowly as she took another sip of her spiked caf, while fervently hoping that there wouldn't be too many more shocks before she had a chance to sleep some of it off.

"Master Katarn, if you wouldn't mind bringing Talon to this meeting, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm starting to look forward to meeting her, because this sounds like it going to be one _very_ interesting discussion." Master Hamner asked politely.

"I think I can manage that." Kyle answered before turning to Leia. "Mind telling me where she might be?"

"She should still be in the cafeteria with Han." Leia answered softly still in a slight state of shock.

Kyle turned to the door and as soon as it slid open, the panicked cries of several students were heard.

Talon was sipping at her third glass of blue milk when Leia excused herself and left the table to join the Jedi Master she'd talked with the night before. Talon wasn't really thinking about it as she watched the Jedi enter another room. As soon as that happened Talon felt an immediate difference in the Force. Leia's presence had just vanished from the Force!

Unknown to most, the Council chamber had been treated with oils obtained from a reptile called the ysalamir. Able to generate a bubble of neutral Force energy, the ysalamir was able to conceal its presence in the Force and deflect any attacks originating from within the Force. Oils that were naturally produced were collected and concentrated without harming the reptile, and that oil retained some of the neutral Force energy that had been generated by the reptilian creature. This was done to ensure that no student, or snooping Knight for that matter, would be able to use the Force to eavesdrop on the proceedings taking place inside.

Talon knew none of this. What she did know was that she could still see the Jedi through the still open door, but she couldn't sense the Jedi in the Force. Even though she'd been ordered to stay at the table, Talon was ready to jump up and try to follow Leia when Han spoke up.

"Unh uh, kid. She just said to stay here until she came and got you. Weren't you listening? I'm pretty sure she meant it." Han warned.

"She... she's gone! I can't feel her in the Force." Talon exclaimed worriedly.

"What are you babbling about? She just went in that room over there. Besides, I don't do that Force stuff. I can't feel it, can't sense it, or however you want to put it, okay? So you telling me that you can't feel her in the Force doesn't tell me anything." Han replied a tad more irritably than he intended.

Talon gaped at the man in pure stunned shock. She'd never heard of anyone who was unable to sense the Force. No one had ever told her that such a thing was possible. Not knowing what made Force sensitivity possible, Talon didn't know or understand why he couldn't sense the Force. There were many questions that Talon wanted to ask about this, but she wasn't sure if she would be allowed to. Although Leia had instructed her to ask about anything she didn't understand, that was Leia, and this man was different.

Deciding that she could ask Leia about it later, Talon turned her attention back to her food. She had no idea where such food came from, and while it was very different from what she was used to, there was also plenty of it. She wasn't sure why these Jedi were willing to provide as much food as she wanted, but she was _not_ going to question them about it.

When Talon finally finished her breakfast, she sat at the table sipping caf and wondering what was going to happen today. She knew that one of the Masters had threatened to send her away, and she didn't want that. She knew Leia had told her that if she did have to leave, then she could go with her. What was more than a little puzzling to her was that this was the Jedi academy, and Leia was a Jedi, so this was where she belonged wasn't it? If she wasn't allowed to stay, did that mean that Leia would have to leave in order for her to stay with the Jedi?

Talon shook her head as these unwelcome thoughts went slowly through her mind. She was sure that whatever answers she might come up with would make little difference in what would happen to her. She knew that these Jedi would decide what they wanted to do with her, and that she was just as helpless against them as she had been against her Sith Masters. She had never been one to ponder her future or her fate, because she preferred to live in those all too brief periods when she wasn't being punished or tormented. Experience had shown her that any future she might look forward to would only hold more of each.

Talon was startled out of her thoughts by the loud beeping of Han's comlink. She watched in silence as the man fiddled with the device, before he scowled. Because he was so close to her, Talon could easily sense the man's irritation over something as he stood up.

"Look kid, if Leia gets back before I do, tell her I had to go over the specs for the hyperdrive with Lando. In the mean time, you wait here, just like Leia said. She should be out of there soon anyway." Han told the girl before he left to send Lando a message.

Talon nodded her head and watched the man leave. She thought about trying to signal the droid over in the way that she'd seen the other do, but she hadn't been given permission to do that. With nothing else to do, Talon yielded to the tempting pull of the Force.

The first place Talon went was to the room that she'd seen her Master enter. She was able to get no closer than a meter from the door before something blocked her path. She slid along the edge of the unknown and unseen barrier, traveling through a sizable portion of the academy, and even outside of it for some distance. She'd tried getting in from above as well as beneath, but had no luck in any of her attempts to enter. Finding herself back at the door that Leia had gone through, Talon gave up and decided to go somewhere else.

Within seconds, Talon was swirling through the massive planet wide cityscape of Corruscant. Air cars and speeders were everywhere, traveling at a breakneck pace. Gleaming spires, and huge landing pads were everywhere, the people and beings that she saw were sometimes so far below her that they looked even smaller than a rock mite. Never in any of her countless journeys through the Force had she seen anything like this.

As she moved lower into the city, Talon could once again feel the countless minds around her impinging on her own. Not wanting to face or experience such a thing while in the embrace and safety of the Force, she quickly fled to much higher altitudes, eventually leaving the atmosphere behind her.

As she circled the planet from what would be considered a very low orbit, she saw this world's sun flash through the spires of the city, the atmosphere and the very edge of the planet itself as she passed into the twilight belt. The strange stark and surreal beauty of the sight before her would have taken her breath away had she still occupied her physical form. Thousands upon millions of glowing points of light were scattered across the surface of the world below, creating a myriad vista of countless patterns that enraptured her mind. Slowly moving points of light were seen to move through the darkness below, and suddenly Talon found herself inside a ship that was heading to the surface from somewhere above her.

Without even thinking about it, she moved herself outside of the vessel, to once more behold the beauty of the world she was now living on. This world was nothing like Korriban. Here, there was so much to see, so much to experience, so many beings living on the world below that the sheer number of minds was nearly overwhelming to her.

Talon mentally compared the two worlds she'd experienced in person. The dull flat monotone color of Korriban, dark and lonesome on the night side, but swirling with menacing storms filled with raging winds and stinging sands on the day side. Such was the world of the Sith.

Never ending pervasive cold, darkness, misery, hunger, and pain on one world. Light that was full of life, clothing to keep her comfortable, and food to fill her stomach on the other. Talon looked down at what she now considered to be the world of the Jedi, and for the first time in her life, she wondered what it would have been like to have always lived here instead of on Korriban.

Sensing something wrong near her body, she returned instantly. She regained awareness of her surroundings to realize that the server droid was trying to pull her not quite empty cup from her hand. Talon let go of the cup with a near silent sound of distress, and watched sorrowfully as the droid placed the cup on the tray it was carrying. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the droid then placed a fresh cup of hot caf down near her hand while beeping and squawking at her incessantly, before it turned and trundled off.

Talon looked from the cup to the droid and back again, not believing what had just happened. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried in vain to understand the place she now found herself in. She slid the cup closer to her and wrapped her hands around it, allowing the heat to saturate her hands and fingers.

She'd been about to allow herself to start drifting in the Force again when she looked up as a woman approached the entry to the cafeteria looking in her direction. The woman was wearing soft grey clothing that was trimmed in white, with dark colored hair. She came straight to the table that Talon was sitting at and stopped.

"Is there someplace that you're supposed to be?" she asked.

Talon glanced up at the woman and nodded her head before looking back down at her caf.

"And where exactly is that place, may I ask?" she said.

Talon swallowed hard, both Leia and Han had told her to wait for them here, and she didn't want to give either of them reason to punish her, so she decided to try to relay her instructions.

"Master Leia told me to wait here and not leave." she answered softly.

"Jedi Organa Solo, while highly respected in the order, is _not_ a Master, and isn't to be addressed as such until that rank is earned. Although your show of respect for her and her position is appreciated, it is also misplaced. She is to follow the instructions of a Master at this academy just like anyone else who hasn't attained such rank, which I might add, includes you. Now since I haven't seen you before, I will assume that you are new to this academy, therefore you can join my classes until such time as you have been assigned a regular schedule. You may address me as Master Kirana Ti." She stated in a tone that was well accustomed to teaching students.

Talon nodded her head and slid out of her chair. There was no way that she wanted to receive the kind of punishment that would result from pitting one Master against another.

Master Kirana Ti watched the girl as she left the table where she'd been apparently daydreaming. She was quick to note the brace on the girl's left leg, and wondered if Cilghal had been made aware of it.

"Now, may I ask your name?"

"I'm called Talon." She answered apprehensively.

"Alright, Talon. Does Master Cilghal know about the injury to your leg?" she asked.

Master Kirana Ti frowned slightly when Talon only nodded her head in answer. "Very well then, I'll assume that Master Cilghal has placed you on restricted physical activities because of your condition. Since I'm sure that such is the case, you may sit and observe a saber training class. I urge you to pay close attention during this class because your life may one day rely on the saber skills that you develop."

Talon followed the Jedi through the main hall and into a different training room than the one she'd visited the day before. Taking one of the seats that the Jedi indicated, Talon began watching silently. She was pretty sure that she would be punished for not waiting where she'd been told to, but she wouldn't be participating in any of the drills or even using a lightsaber, so she hoped that whatever punishment she received wouldn't be too painful.

Instead of pairing off the way they had the day before, these students were setting up for practicing against a remote. Most of them were about her height, although several of the students in this class were almost a decimeter shorter than Talon herself. Talon watched in silent interest as the Jedi programmed each remote to a specific skill level and activated it. One by one the students received an activated remote that hovered almost silently in front of them.

Master Kirana Ti wasn't sure that Talon was paying attention to what was being taught to the class until she saw the girl stand up. Fixing this new student with a stern look, she watched as the girl simply removed her cloak and sat back down. From where she was standing, she could now see the hilts of both a single and a double bladed lightsaber attached to the left side of the girl's belt. Making a mental note to inquire about that later, she returned her attention to her class.

At a nod from the Jedi, the students had activated their lightsabers and dropped into a very basic Shii Cho stance. Each of them faced forward with shoulders squared and their feet at roughly shoulder width for balance. Instead of circling the students to seek out a weakness in the defense that was presented to them, the remotes remained stationary in front of the practitioner. Talon could quickly see that this was a very basic class, and far below her skill level, but she still paid rapt attention none the less.

Talon was so intent on what was going on in front of her that for the time being, she was pretty well able to ignore the constant distractions caused by various thoughts and emotions carried by the Force, and the incessant aches and pains left over from both her last session of punishment and her injured leg. Her softly glowing golden eyes flicked back and forth trying to watch everything at once, noticing a well executed block here, a balanced stance there, a proper grip by another, or a correct position by that one.

She could easily see what each one needed to work on as she watched them. In spite of possible appearances, Talon was not only paying attention, but was also silently encouraging each one that caught her eye. She nodded to herself as she watched a young Nautolan female perform a well executed parry. She wasn't the only one to notice a boy's tendency to turn towards the remote while trying to deflect the low power stun bolts, and the Jedi Master instructing the class was there quickly to show him through both demonstration and softly spoken words the proper way to face the remote.

Talon had now seen two separate Jedi instructing a class in their saber skills. Both had vastly different ways of teaching those who were trying to learn. She realized that while this method was very similar to the way in which she'd been taught, there was still a vast difference in that the Jedi was correcting any mistakes without using painful Force lightning as a deterrent to repeating the mistake.

Jedi Master Kirana Ti was focusing primarily on those students who were actively participating in the class, but she hadn't forgotten about Talon in the least. She had clearly sensed the girl's fear and apprehension in that first moment of meeting her, but neither of those feelings were unusual in young students who'd left their families to learn the ways of the Force. The occasional glance aimed at the girl sitting quietly showed that the girl was paying attention to everything she could. The Dathomir native noticed this with approval. She knew that her skills with both the saber and the Force had served her well many times during the Vong war and she fully intended to pass those skills on to other Jedi.

She turned away from the dark haired youth who'd developed the bad habit of trying to turn to face the remote when a cry of alarm rang out from one of the smaller students. Kirana Ti snapped her head around to see what the problem was, and saw the boy slumping to the floor after dropping his training saber. His remote was zipping around in high speed circles and every time it passed another remote, a yellow indicator would flash signaling that a new program had been accepted.

"Sabers down!" she called out to the students, some of whom were now ducking away from their own remotes which were starting to act strangely. "Everyone clear the room. Come on, quickly now." She instructed in a loud and firm but calm tone while never taking her eyes off of the young boy who was not moving.

Talon wasn't sure what had happened, because she'd been watching someone else when the remote started behaving crazily, but when the Jedi told everyone to leave she saw the remotes begin to target anyone that moved whether they had an active saber or not. When the remotes had fired a third shot at the unmoving boy on the floor, Talon didn't stop to think about what she was doing, she acted.

A proper combination of Force speed and a powerful Force jump instantly carried Talon ten meters across the room and over the heads of several of the panicking students to land next to the downed boy. She planted one foot on either side of him, straddling his body, and immediately adopted the Jar Kai version of Soresu. With a single hilt lightsaber in each hand, she began fending off the shots that were now being aimed both at her and the boy still on the floor. Talon didn't need to be told that the power levels of the shots had been changed to the maximum setting because the shots were now being deflected off the blades of her sabers.

Kirana Ti thanked the Force that these students had been carefully drilled in how to act in an emergency. As soon as she had delivered her instructions, the students had acted to follow them. Within seconds most of the students were safely out of the room, with only two exceptions. Looking back to see what had happened to one of the youngest students in the class, Jedi Master Kirana Ti got one of the largest shocks of her life to see a pair of red lightsabers being used to defend him. Something told her that these were true Sith weapons and not just an arrogant Jedi student choosing a red lightsaber. She didn't stop to question or stare as those red blades flashed out to meet each and every shot that was fired from the remotes that were now gathering to concentrate on the remaining targets left in the room.

Knowing that there was nothing she could do to help Talon at that moment, the Jedi Master continued to evacuate the training room. Once the rest of the students were in the clear she could return to help with defense. Even as she was trying to get everyone clear, the remotes had been following their new program and continued their assault on anything that moved. More then a few of the class members had been hit and were crying from the pain of their still smoking wounds. Whatever had gone wrong, she knew that these remotes could now kill anyone who was hit too many times.

Kirana concentrated and sent a wave of calm energy through the Force to help her control some of the students who were beginning to panic. "Stay calm, everyone. As long as you remain out here, you'll be fine." she said as they finally left the room.

"But Kaldin's still in there!" One of them cried out in a panicked voice.

"I know, but there is someone in there protecting him, so you must put your trust in the Force." Kirana replied knowing that she couldn't tend to her students and perform a rescue attempt at the same time. She hated being forced to abandon two of her students in such a manner, but she knew that she was needed to deal with this much larger group first. She spotted Han Solo wandering towards them with a puzzled expression and called out to him.

"Master Solo, the remotes have malfunctioned, and I need to get back inside to help the others! Can you care for these younglings?" She asked loudly knowing that the small lie of calling the man a Master would help him maintain some control over the group.

Han pulled his customized blaster pistol from its holster and rushed forward. "I've got a better idea! You handle the kids, while I get in some target practice!"

Han followed Kirana as she stepped to the door with a heavy heart, fully expecting to see both students being repeatedly hit by circling remotes, but the scene that met her eyes was one that filled her with relief.

Talon was entirely focused on the battle she was fighting. Never before had she had to defend someone else and she was finding that it required a different type of thinking and a different strategy. With nearly a score of remotes circling around her and the unmoving boy beneath her, she stood her ground and refused to move except to deflect the shots straight up in the air. She was so focused on her efforts that she didn't even realize that the room had been cleared, and she didn't want anyone else to get hit by a stray blaster bolt.

Arms, wrists, and sabers were moving in a smooth flowing motion as a perfect extension of both her will and her skill as she deflected each and every single shot aimed either at her or the still form below. The Force was flowing strongly through her as she allowed herself to feel where the next shot would be, and she made sure that one of her blades was there to greet it.

Kirana stared at the girl who was no taller than any of the other students that she'd had in her class just a few moments earlier. She knew that none of them would have been able to last this long against so many remotes even if they were operating at minimal power, but the display of skill taking place on the far side of the room was unthinkable for someone so young. The Jedi could see that the girl's face held no expression at all as she inhaled through her nose and exhaled from her mouth. Each hand working independently of the other to form an impenetrable defensive shield around both her and the other student lying all too motionless between her feet.

The Sith weapons in the girl's hands were intercepting every blaster shot aimed at the boy with an angry clash of conflicting energy. The two blades were weaving through the air to form a pair of blinding red blurs that were almost hypnotically graceful in their high speed dance against death. Kirana could tell with only a few seconds of observation that it might as well be a Master standing over the boy protecting him, and was instantly glad that she had rounded up this stray student. She felt someone trying to push past her waist and looked down to see the young female Nautolan trying to check on her friend.

"He's being well protected, now go stay with the others so we can deal with this, okay." She instructed as calmly as she could manage.

Han heard the Jedi tell the kid to go back and join the others as he made his way to the door. Stepping past her into the room he saw Talon putting up a good fight against a large group of remotes that were swarming around her. He watched as the little droids kept circling at high speed as they searched for a weakness in Talon's defense that they could exploit. Taking aim at one of those farther away from the girl, he fired.

Talon nearly jumped as a remote a few meters in front of her exploded in a shower of glowing molten sparks. She knew that she hadn't caused it, because she been meticulously careful in deflecting the shots straight up. A quick glance around showed her that not only was the room now clear, but that the man she'd met earlier was preparing to shoot another of the remotes.

Han knew with one look that the situation was critical. That kid lying under Talon's feet wasn't moving at all, and he knew that Luke wouldn't have any problems against that many remotes, but he was sure that a kid like Talon wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

"You're doing great kid! Just don't let up. I'll have these things taken out in just a minute." He called out to her to let her know that help had arrived even as he shot a second remote out of the air.

It was fortunate that Talon never faltered in her efforts at that point because she was forced to block one of the still glowing bits of debris that resulted from the destruction of the second remote. She knew that she couldn't protect herself and the boy from both the shots from the remotes and the debris from their demise for long. Deciding that a change of tactics was in order, she switched to a Jar Kai version of Ataru. It was time to finish this fight and fast.

The battle hardened Jedi Master Kirana Ti stared in dumbfounded disbelief as Talon became a fast moving blur after switching forms. She easily recognized the high speed and highly aggressive combat form of Ataru, and felt her blood run cold thinking that Talon had abandoned her defense of the unconscious Kaldin. Her fear was soon proven baseless as three remotes came flying out of the swarm in quick succession to slam into a wall after having been struck by one of the girl's attacks. Using the Force to speed up her own visual acuity, she saw that Talon was using the butt of her lightsabers to knock the remotes out of the fight while still deflecting all of the shots aimed at Kaldin. She reached out and placed a hand on Han's shoulder to stop his efforts.

"No more. Let her handle this. At this point you'll only distract her." She told him quietly without taking her eyes off the action in front of her.

Han let out an angry breath and nodded as he reluctantly holstered his blaster pistol. He had to give the kid credit where it was due; she was putting up the kind of fight that he'd rarely seen his wife or brother in law deliver. As he watched, he slowly came to realize that anyone who would fight that hard to protect someone else wasn't, no _couldn't_ be as far gone as the title of Sith implied. He was about to comment on the remotes when one of those that had been knocked from the fray swerved back to rejoin the battle.

"They're not supposed to do that! They're supposed to shut down after they've been hit!" Kirana exclaimed in angry disbelief after seeing the remote disregard the standard safety measure. She now realized that something would have to be done to help the girl in her battle, but what?

Talon saw that one remote return to resume the fight, and knew that it had to be the cause of the problem. Having trained against remotes more times than she could count, she knew how they were supposed to act and react to certain situations, and this one had somehow ignored or bypassed the standard shutdown feature. She'd been about to strike another remote when she was surprised by movement from the boy she was trying to protect. Faster than she could watch without taking her eyes off the enemies around her the boy's body slid wildly across the floor towards the Jedi waiting to receive him.

Kirana looked the boy over even as Han picked him up to carry him out of the room. He'd been hit about three or four times that she could see, but should make a full recovery. The angry red knot on the side of his head told why he remained unconscious. Turning her attention back to Talon, she saw that she had succeeded in what she'd hoped to accomplish. With only herself to defend, Talon was now a whirling dervish who was taking the fight to the remotes with a ferocity that very few Jedi Masters could deliver. One, two, and once even three at a time were knocked from the fight as Talon even kicked one of them while striking two others.

Seeing that the boy was now safely away from the danger, Talon had no further reason to remain stationary or hold off an all out assault on her attackers. She began hitting them hard and fast, using the Force to enhance her speed so that she outpaced her assailants. She knew that she'd hit the source of the problem at least three times, but it kept coming back after refusing to shut down. She would have ignored that one in favor of another, but every one of them looked exactly the same, and she couldn't afford the effort it would take to keep track of that one remote out of all the others.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, the deadly crisis was over. Talon had had to slam that final remote into the wall hard enough to crack the casing before it stopped. It hadn't even hit the floor when she placed her sabers back in their place on her belt. A brief wave of Force power summoned the damaged remote to her hand and she turned around to give it to the instructor.

Talon froze in pure horror as she looked towards the doorway. Master Kirana Ti was there as were Han, Leia, Cilghal, and several other Jedi that she didn't recognize. All of them were watching her. Talon swallowed hard and walked forward to meet her fate.

No one spoke a word as the girl walked slowly towards them after having dispatched the last remote. Her head bowed towards the floor, one would have thought that she was the one who'd been utterly beaten as she approached.

When Talon reached the waiting Jedi, she held out her hand holding the defective droid. "I... I think this is the one that started it. It... it wouldn't shut down properly. I tried not to damage it." She told them softly trying to explain.

Kenth reached out and took the now harmless source of the problem and looked at it with a frown. The casing had a fair sized crack on one side along with a slight dent in the opposing side. He could tell that a lot of power had been placed into that final strike against it.

"We'll get one of the technicians to look at it later. Right now we'd like to talk to you in the Council chambers." He said without any giving clue as to what he felt or was thinking about the incident.

Talon nodded her head and prepared to follow the Jedi when someone tugged gently at her arm. She turned to see the young Nautolan that she'd been watching when the whole thing began.

"I brought your cloak for you, and I want to thank you for protecting Kaldin like that. I know he's not very good yet, but he only just got here and he tries really hard." She told Talon as she handed over the forgotten cloak, she might have intended to say more but broke off when Cilghal placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your friend will be fine after a while. Luckily he was only hit in the legs and knocked his head when he fell." Cilghal told her before looking over some of the other students.

Talon nodded her head to the young student and donned her cloak before stealing a quick glance at Cilghal and Leia. She knew she'd disobeyed both of them by what she'd done, not just once, but twice now, and she was sure that she'd be hurting for a long time before her punishment was over.

Every Master present could easily detect the fear, and tension in the girl who'd just fought valiantly to save a young boy she didn't even know. A lot of doubts were settled in that moment, but some still remained, and it was hoped by more than a few, that those remaining doubts would be put to rest after talking with the girl who looked as if she were about to attend her own execution.

Talon followed the Jedi into the room where she'd seen Leia enter earlier. She was instantly aware of something vastly different once she was inside. As she paused to think about it, Talon came to realize that the countless minds that she'd been constantly sensing were no longer there; they had finally gone silent, and she breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden escape from the oppressing confusion. Looking around her, she noticed that everyone had taken their seats and were waiting on her. She saw Leia indicate the chair next to her on the far side of the table and went over to sit down. She climbed into the chair and looked at the table, waiting.

Kenth took a few moments to study the subject of this meeting. As he watched her in total silence, he could sense a proverbial air of doom hovering about her as if she expected to be killed at any moment. The levels of fear, tension, and more than a little guilt that the girl was broadcasting through the Force were strong enough to be more than a little annoying and it grated heavily on his nerves.

Master Hamner drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Once he was sure that he was in a calm state of mind, he turned his attention to the source of both his irritation and this unusual meeting. Part of what irritated him so much was that he couldn't get the image of this tiny girl fighting furiously to protect someone she didn't know out of his mind. Granted it was the kind of thing that a Jedi was expected to do, and if he were to be truly honest with himself, was the absolute _last_ thing he would have expected from a Sith. Kirana had filled him in with a brief report of what had happened before Talon had even finished dispatching the malfunctioning remotes.

From what the Master instructing the class had told him in hushed hurried whispers, Kenth knew that Talon couldn't have stopped to think about any of the possible consequences before she'd acted, there hadn't been time. She had acted just as any of the Jedi in this room would have, and had done so just as fast. Kenth knew just as well as anyone else that the cumulative effects of repeated stun shots could be fatal, which was why there was more than one safety feature installed on their remotes.

The acting Grand Master was still pondering the whole mess when Cilghal finally entered several minutes later. The Mon Cal healer calmly took her seat, and looked over at Kenth.

"Well, I have some good news to report. A total of seven of the students each took one hit by the remotes, and Kaldin took a total of three, with the most serious of them being to the side of his head. He's now awake and still a little out of it, but he'll make a full recovery in a day or two. If he'd taken another shot to his head it could have caused severe neurological damage, and might even have killed him. All of them are a little shaken by what happened, and some are more than a little frightened by the incident, but they should be fine with time." Cilghal said in a very relieved tone.

"That _is_ good news!" Kyp spoke up.

"Yes it is. Now, may I suggest that we get back to the reason we're here so we can conclude this meeting and continue on to our regular duties." Kenth added.

"Talon, why did you attend a saber training class when not only have I told you not to do anything like that, but you had also been instructed to wait in the cafeteria?" Cilghal asked immediately.

Talon swallowed hard in spite of the fact that her mouth had just gone completely dry. She knew that there was no way out of this without catching punishment from these Masters or retribution from that other one. These Masters wanted an answer, and she knew she wasn't able to lie to them.

"I tried to obey. I even told her that Maser Leia told me to wait there for her, but she said that Leia wasn't a Master, that she had to follow a Master's instructions like everyone else, and that I had to do what she said." She whispered morosely.

"Fair enough, and that is true to an extent. So why did you find it necessary to protect that boy in spite of the fact that with your condition, those remotes could have killed you?" Kenth asked curiously.

"I knew there weren't enough of them to hit me." Talon answered honestly with a slight shake of her head.

Kenth Hamner's eyebrows shot upwards as he glanced around to see the reactions of the others. All but two were just as surprised as he was, and those two were both grinning slightly, although, Kyle's expression was closer to a smug smirk if Kenth were to be honest about it.

"Still, why did you protect him after being told not to do anything like that?" Kenth pressed her determined to find out if he could get one answer that would satisfy his doubts about the girl.

Talon's mind raced as she tried desperately to think of an answer that would be acceptable to them, but without knowing more about these Jedi, it wasn't easy. Finally she decided to give them the same answer that she might have presented to Darth Magus.

"He isn't a waste of resources, because he can learn to be better." She replied in a near whisper.

Everyone in the room felt the disturbance in the Force that signaled Talon's attempt at deception. It wasn't an actual lie, but it wasn't the entire truth either, and all of them knew it.

"That's not the real reason, is it? Don't you _dare_ try to lie to us!" Kyp pressed her suddenly as he slammed a fist down on the table.

Talon jumped at the outburst. Her hands were shaking in her lap and her jaw trembled as she realized that she'd have to tell them the real reason she'd protected the boy. Talon knew that this was the final blow. She knew this answer would make her failure as a Sith complete, and she'd be either exiled or executed. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

"I didn't want him to die." She said in a quavering voice.

The air in the room was thick and heavy with the fear and guilt that was emanating from Talon, as Leia waited to see what would happen next. She knew the Council had just been given at least one answer they needed for them to accept Talon into the order, now she only needed to find out if it was enough.

Leia reached out her right hand to place it on Talon's shoulder in a gesture of support. As soon as she started the move Talon flinched in fear, and everyone felt the tension in girl rise even further.

"You need to relax and calm down Talon. We're only trying to find out some more about you." Leia told her softly.

Talon heard, but didn't believe the words that had just been spoken to her. She knew that what she'd done would have been seen as a severe sign of weakness on Korriban, and now there was nothing she could do to hide it.

"Why did you not want him to die, Talon? Explain that to us." Master Tionne Solusar asked her softly.

A slow solitary tear began sliding silently down Talon's cheek as she sat there waiting for their judgment. She didn't answer the Jedi's question because she didn't know herself why she had done it, and she was sure that admitting to ignorance in this situation would only make things worse. She didn't have the slightest idea as to why these Jedi were asking her questions. Why couldn't they just punish her and be done with it the way the Sith always had?

"Look Talon, do you even _want_ to be a Jedi?" Kyp demanded in exasperation.

Talon looked up at the Jedi Master for a mere instant as she nodded her head.

"Then why won't you answer our questions?" Kyp demanded again.

"Because I don't know what answers you want!" Talon cried out as she slid from her chair and huddled against the wall. "I don't know why I did it."

Leia could feel Talon's fear and desperation rising through the Force like an erupting volcano, and she turned to give Kyp a warning look to ease up on the girl.

"Then tell us why you want to be a Jedi!" Kyp demanded even louder now determined to get an answer out of the girl.

With the door on the far side of the room, Talon knew there was no way to get past all of these Jedi to flee, and even if she could, she wouldn't know where to go. With no other escape possible, Talon tried to escape through the Force. Various explosive comments of surprise and disbelief were made when the Jedi present felt Talon's attempt to flee to the one place where she'd always been safe.

But Talon wasn't safe. For some reason unknown to her, she had to struggle to hold her thoughts together, to maintain her mind and essence in the Force. It was as if there wasn't enough of the Force to draw on to hold herself together.

Nearly half of the Council members had risen from their seats in surprise to stare at the girl after sensing what had felt like her death.

"Tell me that's not disturbing!" Kyle muttered aloud.

The comment got nearly everyone's attention fast.

"Are you telling me she's done that before?" Kenth demanded in disbelief.

"Yeah, in fact, this is the third time that I know of." Kyle replied easily.

"Talon, I know you can hear me. We aren't going to hurt you or even punish you. I need you to return to your body, because these chambers are sealed with neutral Force energy, so you can't leave that way. If you want to leave, then you can say so, and there is nothing we can do to stop you. Now will you please rejoin the meeting?" Leia said directing her words to the room around her.

Talon did hear what Leia told her and she did return to her body, but not because Leia had asked her to. She'd returned because she was finding it almost impossible to hold her mind together in such a small portion of the Force. She was trapped, both physically and mentally in a room with a lot of irritated Jedi, and she was certain that they were angry at her.

As soon as she was back in her body, and she realized that she would have no choice but to feel whatever punishment might be delivered, Talon panicked. Scooting across the floor along the edge of the wall, she tried to get as far from them as she could. Knowing that it was a futile effort, but needing to try anyway, she soon found herself backed into a corner with nowhere else to go.

Eight Jedi Masters looked with both concern and surprise at the girl who acted as if they were ravenous beasts eager to rend her flesh before devouring her piecemeal. It was one thing to know that they were the subject of doubt and mistrust throughout most of the galaxy, but to see and more importantly _feel_ the near mindless terror and panic that they were causing in someone that they were actually trying to help, really disturbed them.

The lone Jedi Knight in the room wasn't surprised by Talon's actions because she'd seen it before on board The Alderaan. Although she too was irritated; she wasn't irritated at Talon. She knew that Talon's fear was based in both lies and the painful experiences given to her by her Sith Masters, just as she knew that those fears would have to eventually be left behind. Leia was irritated at the Council members for not fully listening to her advice. She closed her eyes and took a moment to force herself into a calmer frame of mind before she approached the girl.

When Cilghal saw Leia try to compose herself, she stood to get a look at Talon for herself. The girl was backed into the corner of the room with her knees drawn up to her chest, arms covering her head defensively, her eyes closed tightly, and her respiration was fast, shallow, and irregular. It was obvious that the girl was in the midst of a full fledged panic attack, and the healer knew that it couldn't be allowed to continue; there were too many complications to Talon's health that could result from a prolonged state of intense stress. Stepping towards the girl, she began exuding a slight wave of calming energy through the Force. It wasn't strong enough to entirely dispel Talon's fear, but then it wasn't meant to be. Cilghal knew that Talon felt justified in her fear, she also felt that Talon was entitled to be afraid if she chose to be, but she wasn't going to allow that fear to jeopardize Talon's health. The fact that Cilghal also wanted to try reasoning with Talon also played a large part in the amount of fear that she dispelled.

Kneeling down next to Talon, Cilghal reached out to try comforting her and to gain her attention. She couldn't help but notice the girl flinch as soon as the move started, but didn't pay much attention to it, being distracted by a small burn mark on the girl's right forearm. With her hand on Talon's shoulder, she could feel the tremors caused by tension in the girl's body.

Even though her eyes were closed, Talon could feel the attention that was being focused on her. A lifetime of being the target for the aggression and hostility of others had ingrained an instinctive use of the Force to let her sense such things, and in her experience, having everyone's attention on her did not bode well. She knew for a certainty that she would be in pain within the next few moments and there was nothing she could do to get away from it. The thought of having to endure a punishment while trapped in her body frightened her, but then she felt most of her fear being dissipated with the Force, and knew that one of the Jedi was doing it.

Talon didn't understand why these Jedi wouldn't let her keep her fear. She knew that being afraid had kept her alive. Being afraid of her Masters had made her avoid them whenever possible, and being afraid of the Guardians had made her run instead of trying to fight the way that Darth Magus had. She knew her fears had saved her life more times than she could count, but these Jedi kept taking her fear away from her.

Cilghal looked over at Leia as the Knight knelt down next to Talon.

"Any ideas?" Cilghal asked hopefully.

"Oh, I think I might have one or two." Leia answered heavily.

"Talon, I need you to look at me for a minute." Leia instructed in a firm but gentle tone.

Talon heard the instruction and hesitantly moved her hands to the side so she could look at the woman kneeling to her left. "What did I do wrong?" She asked quietly in a plaintive quavering voice.

Leia could have grinned when she heard that question, because it showed that she had the girl's full attention, but she kept her composure while answering Talon.

"As far as I know Talon, you haven't done anything wrong. What we don't understand is why you're so afraid right now when there's nothing to be afraid of. Do you think we'd punish you when you haven't done anything? We're not. We _can't_!" Leia replied.

Talon's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to understand what the Jedi had just said. It didn't make one bit of sense to her because these were Masters and she wasn't, so, they had the right to do whatever they wanted didn't they?

"I don't... I don't understand. What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.

"Cilghal, has Talon been accepted into the Order?" Leia asked the healer suddenly.

"No. That's what we're here to decide." Cilghal responded with a little confusion while wondering where Leia was going with this.

"Exactly. You see Talon, right now you aren't a part of this Order, so there are only two things these Masters can do. They can either accept you into the Order so you can learn to become a Jedi, or they can send you away. Until they accept you into this Order, they don't have the right to punish you. They don't have the right to tell you what to do. _I_ don't even have that right Talon." Leia told her.

Talon started shaking her head not understanding any of it. "But..."

"Darth Magus didn't teach you about laws did he?" Leia said quickly cutting off whatever question Talon had been about to ask.

"You see Talon there are some kinds of rules called laws that everyone has to live by. Everyone, Jedi and Sith alike. Those laws state that you are a free person, able to make your own decisions, because those who did have the authority to decide for you are dead. The only way that can change, is if _you_ decide that you want it to change. If you join this Order to learn to become a Jedi, then, and only then, would we have the authority or the right to punish you. If you do become a member of this Order, then you'll be assigned a Jedi Master who will be in charge of teaching and training you in the ways and rules of the Jedi. That Master will have the authority to punish you if you break our rules, just as any other Master will also have that authority. Do you understand now Talon?" Leia explained as thoroughly as she could.

"They won't hurt me?" Talon asked with confusion and disbelief vying for dominance in her features.

"They _can't_ hurt you Talon. If they do, then they'll be punished by those who enforce the law. Now tell me; do you want to stay here, join the Order, and learn to become a Jedi?" Leia asked patiently.

"Yes." She answered in a near plea.

"Then tell me Talon, why do you want to become a Jedi?" Leia asked with a slight triumphant smile.

"Because... Because it's better here. There's lots of food to eat. No one tries to take the food away from me. I have clothes now. I get to be warm even when I'm sleeping. I'm allowed to have lightsabers. No one does things to me in my mind, and I... I have a name now..." Talon answered plaintively. _"and no one is trying to kill me for being better than they are."_

That last was not spoken aloud, but instead, was a mere thought in Talon's mind. A thought with so much emotion behind it that it was carried through the Force in such a way that everyone in the room heard it just as if it had been shouted.

Before Leia could say anything more Master Hamner spoke up after a heavy sigh. "Is there anyone here who can give a valid reason why Talon should not be accepted as a student?"

"Kyp? How about you?" Kenth asked after a moments pause during which, no one spoke.

"As much as I hate to admit it, this is where she needs to be. If nothing else, at least we'll be able to keep an eye on her. Besides, I'm not too thrilled with the idea of just turning her loose. Do you really want to think about what kind of work a Hutt would have her doing?" Kyp said after careful consideration.

"Those are excellent points Kyp. You really surprise me sometimes; I would have thought you would against this, but no matter." Kenth said before turning in his chair to look at the three individuals still in the corner. "Talon let me be the first one to welcome you to the Jedi Order. Leia, I'd also like to confirm your promotion to the rank of Jedi Master, and to congratulate you, on both the promotion, and the acceptance of your new apprentice. Talon, you are hereby assigned to be the apprentice of Master Solo here. She will begin teaching you the ways of our Order, and I suggest that you listen closely and study hard, because you have a lot of learning to do." Kenth finished with a smile.

Talon turned from Leia to gape at the acting Grand Master in stark disbelief. "You. You're letting me stay? But you said you were going to send me away, and I'd have to go to the wilds." She asked in a hoarse whisper.

Master Hamner's eyebrows shot up at that. "Well, I suppose it is a wild galaxy out there, but be that as it may; Master Katarn was right. Letting you stay or making you leave isn't my decision alone. I was way out of line yesterday. I was wrong in both what I said, and in my actions, and I apologize. In my defense, it's not easy to make decisions that can affect the lives of more than half the people in the galaxy. My respect for Master Skywalker's achievements has gone up exponentially since I've held this position. In fact, this little situation with you has been the easiest thing I've had to deal with in months. Now if there is nothing further, I move that we adjourn this meeting."

"Wait, please. I'd like to pose one request to the Council if I may." Leia spoke up quickly as she urged Talon to her feet.

"If it's not an urgent matter, then it will need to be submitted for review by the Council, so we'll be able to make an informed decision." Master Tionne Solusar stated firmly.

"It's about Talon. There's something I left out to use as a bargaining chip in case I needed it." Leia told her.

"And just what might that be? It's not like she has any great wealth that might be misused by the Order." Kenth asked.

"It's true that Talon doesn't have much by way of wealth, since she only has one hundred and sixty eight credits. What she _does_ have in addition to an ancient Sith fighter which is perfectly functional I might add, and could be auctioned to a museum or antiquities collector; she also has a data pad that's been modified to read a rather large memory crystal. It contains a complete copy of the Jedi archives from before the Exar Kun War, and would therefore contain knowledge and techniques that we may not have anymore, that data pad also contains a map to some lost or possibly stolen holocrons. Talon already agreed to give us that information, before I ever brought her here, but I feel, and my request, is that she be compensated for that information." Leia said quickly to make her point as she and Talon resumed their seats.

Kyp started laughing loudly while shaking a finger at Leia. "I think you've been hanging around that husband of yours a little too long Leia, he's starting to be a bad influence on you. Planning a little blackmail against the Council were you?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say blackmail, but definitely extortion if it became necessary." She replied with a chuckle.

"Okay, now I'm curious to know exactly what she showed up with. Give us a complete inventory, if you don't mind." Kenth said with a rueful smile.

"At this time, Talon has to her name, one Sith fighter craft recently repaired after being slightly damaged by a tarentatek, one hundred and sixty eight credits, one pouch to hold those credits, one data pad containing a journal of one Darth Magus Sith Lord, one modified data pad containing archival copies of both the Jedi and Sith teachings, and a map to a possibly unreachable cache of Jedi holocrons, one data pad containing procurement, and population records of the Sith enclave where Talon was living, one Sith styled cloak, two single hilt Sith lightsabers, two double bladed Sith lightsabers, one set of clothing made from medical coverings that I gave her aboard The Alderaan, five sets of clothes that Master Cilghal had made for her so that she can survive our environmental settings, two belts equipped with refrigeration units to maintain her required temperature settings, one photo filtration unit so she can see in normal lighting that Cilghal had made, one pair of Jedi academy issue boots, one satchel case, one pair of foot coverings made from rags that she wore from Korriban that have been incinerated, and one rag belt of the same nature which met the same fate, and which I replaced with one of my own. Oh, I almost forgot. She has two rods of compressed beskar that weigh one thousand kilograms each, and a med kit containing Mandalorian combat stimulants which I've stored in my quarters. I suppose you could also count that tarentatek claw that I pried out of the hull of her ship. Other than that, all she has of her own are her skills and memories." Leia told him off the top of her head.

"Those holocrons you mentioned, is there any way to retrieve them? We could certainly use the wisdom and knowledge they contain." Tionne asked eagerly.

"Luke asked about that as well. From the memories I saw in Talon's mind, those holocrons are a few dozen kilometers underground hidden deep in caverns that are swarming with a hoard of tarentatek." Leia answered before turning to her new apprentice. "Talon just how far are they from the deepest area that you've been?"

"The Hall of Battle is eighteen kilometers from the surface. That's where I was when the Guardians started eating everyone. Five kilometers past the Hall of Battle are some of the tombs of the ancient Sith. They weren't the Great Lords who were to be honored for all ages, but they were still Sith Lords. Darth Magus always took us down to the lava caverns to send one of us to the wilds. He would always give them a lightsaber with some spare power cells, and then he would laugh about how it would only make their death take longer. He made us watch until the ones who were being sent away had crossed the lava caverns, and if they ever returned they were to be killed." Talon finished morosely.

"Am I understanding this right? Was that Kath spawn sending kids out to face tarentatek on their own?" Kyp asked angrily.

"Yes, he was. I think it was one of the cruelest punishments that he used. Tukata, shyrack, and Lairgek, are all known to be dangerous, but add in the tarentatek, and I doubt that any of the victims could survive for long. They'd have to be almost as exceptionally skilled as Talon here, and just as determined to live." Leia answered heavily.

"That would have been a terrifying way to go. It would have been kinder to..." Kyp was saying before he was interrupted by Kenth.

"Wait a minute! When I said that I was going to see that she left, she thought I meant that I was going to send her out to be killed, didn't she?" Kenth demanded hotly.

"Yes, Kenth, that's exactly what she thought. She even asked me about it. I had to get her to explain what it meant, and after she did, I promised her that I wouldn't let that happen, that she could live with me instead. I'll admit that I made a rash promise without even talking it over with Han first, but he's had the chance to meet her and judge for himself, and he agrees that she'd be better off with us than out on her own. It's a moot point now that she's been accepted as a student." Leia explained.

Kenth shook his head and looked over at Talon. "I'm sorry you thought that's what I meant. We don't do that kind of thing here; I'll admit that we sometimes send students away, but that's usually at their own request, and they always have someplace else to go. Now, how far are these lava caverns from the tombs, and how far are the holocrons from there?"

"The lava caverns are eleven kilometers past the tombs and from what I saw on the map, the holocrons are about a dozen kilometers further into the lower caverns, and that's where the Guardians live." Talon answered plainly.

Kyle gave a long soft whistle of awe. "An almost fifty klick hike through tarentatek infested caverns and tunnels? I don't think anyone is going to be reclaiming those holocrons anytime soon, not without an army at their back."

"Exactly, Talon may have killed more than a hundred of them during her escape, but that was an act of pure desperation, and she had an advantage in that she was using a pair of unorthodox weapons, which no one in the order has any experience with. I also find it unlikely that she killed them all, especially when some of them were trying to rip her ship apart to get to her when she took off." Leia agreed.

"Hmm. In that case, it seems like our business here is done. Motion to adjourn?" Kyle replied.

"I'll second that motion, since I'd like to speak with Master Solo about something after we adjourn." Cilghal said as she quickly spoke up.

"Any objections?" Kenth asked. "Then meeting adjourned."

"Master Solo? I'd like to speak with you as well as soon as you have the free time." Tionne called out.

"Talon, I'd like you to wait for us in the cafeteria, and _this_ time if someone tries to order you to go somewhere with them; I want you to tell them that you are under strict instructions from Master Cilghal to stay put, and that if they have any problems with it, they can come consult me. Understand?" The healer instructed firmly.

Talon nodded her head slowly in answer but was too stunned by realization to move from her seat.


	8. Chapter 8

SW 8

In spite of the instructions that she'd just been given, Talon sat there at the informal briefing table in stunned disbelief. To her, it seemed as if everything that she knew to be an immutable fact had turned out to be a lie. Instead of killing her, as Darth Magus had taught her they would, the Jedi had taken her in, helped her, and now had finally accepted her.

In the short time that she'd been among these Jedi, they'd given her many things, a name, clothing, as much food as she wanted, the privilege to carry a lightsaber, private quarters, and now she even had her own Master. She was not just a student, but an apprentice. _An apprentice!_ Never had she dared dream or aspire of attaining such an exalted rank. On Korriban, among the Sith, she'd always been considered just above a failure, one who was only kept alive because of her saber skills. It had all happened too fast, too suddenly, and never would she have dared to dream that such things were even possible. One minute she was fighting the most intense battle of her life to escape from the most dangerous creatures Korriban had to offer, the next she was in the hands of the Jedi who were the eternal enemy of all Sith, and now she was to be trained to _become_ one of these Jedi. The speed with which all these changes had occurred left her reeling in a state of total shock.

Talon was startled out of her bewildered thoughts when she sensed someone reaching towards her. She glanced up at the concerned face of Tionne as the Jedi placed a hand on her shoulder before she looked back down at the table.

"Talon? Is there something wrong?" Tionne asked her.

"Darth... Darth Magus always... always told me that... that I wasn't worthy of having a lightsaber or a name, and now..." Talon's voice trailed off as her mind continued to whirl from the sudden and unexpected changes in her life.

"I suppose it is a rather big change, isn't it? Don't worry Talon. It might take some time, but you'll get used to it eventually. For now, you really should follow Master Cilghal's instructions and go to the cafeteria to wait for her." Tionne reassured the girl.

Talon nodded her head and slid out of the chair to head towards the cafeteria. As she walked out of the Council chambers, Talon was jerked out of her daze by the sudden cacophony caused by the countless number of sentient minds on Corruscant. She tried to focus herself in an effort to push those unwelcome thoughts from her mind, but had no success. She knew that she needed time to think, to try understanding what was now happening in her life. She was so filled with the unbelievability of it all, and at the same time so distracted by the constant noise in her mind, that she couldn't recall having resumed her seat in the cafeteria. She was brought to awareness of the fact when Kirana sat down at the table with her. Talon knew that the Jedi was looking at her intently, watching her, studying her, but wasn't certain as to why.

As Kirana stared at the girl in front of her she was looking for certain clues, subtle signs of an evil taint within. Skin as pale white as the finest artisan's porcelain showed no signs of broken vessels, nor was there any of the deathly coloration associated with sinister intentions while using the Force. Instead there was only a rich golden yellow glow centered in the girl's eyes.

Kirana studied Talon for several minutes while mentally reviewing everything she'd ever learned about the visible signs which depicted the taint of evil within another user of the Force. She finally realized that what she saw sitting in front of her was an anomaly, an anathema, because the only sign of darkness in the girl was the discoloration of her eyes. Kirana knew that if the girl was truly evil, then there should be other physical manifestations of it, but there weren't any.

Kirana saw the girl flinch as she reached out through the Force to see what stirred within the girl's heart, and because of that, she fully expected to find what she was searching for. What she sensed from Talon was nervousness, apprehension, uncertainty, guilt, and fear. There was no hatred, or anger. There were no feelings of animosity or hostility from the girl, but there was pain.

The Dathomir native didn't realize that she had actually entered Talon's mind until the mind numbing, body wracking levels of pain cut through her like a lightsaber. As the Jedi pulled away from the unintentional contact, she came to the realization that the pain she'd experienced wasn't the result of an attack or an attempt at self defense from an unwanted invasion of the mind, but rather it was pain that the girl was feeling at that moment. Pain of the body, the mind, the soul, and the spirit. The pain of a life that had endured torment beyond measure, and somehow survived.

Kirana stared at Talon in horror. How anyone could hurt that much, both physically and mentally, and not be reduced to a sobbing wreck was something she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Using the Force Kirana quickly sent a summons to Master Cilghal, before turning her attention back to Talon. Uncertain as to how to find out exactly what she wanted, she finally decided to simply ask for what she wanted to know.

"Are you Sith?" Kirana asked softly.

A single nod of the girl's head was her only response, and the Jedi noted that Talon never took her eyes off the table.

Kirana's mind flashed back to the sight of Talon standing over the unconscious Kaldin. As the scene played out in her mind's eye, Kirana could see details that she'd missed when it had actually happened and she knew that Talon had adopted a stance and position that would allow her to hold her ground for as long as it took. The girl's actions hadn't been those of a Sith, and it was with that in mind that she asked her next question. "Why are you here, if you are Sith?"

"To become a Jedi." Talon answered softly.

Kirana leaned forward and waited until the girl glanced up at her before she spoke. "Then you have chosen the right path." She said with a smile.

Talon stared at the Jedi in front of her stupidly. She'd heard both the words and the tone in the Jedi's voice, but what truly stunned her was what she felt through the Force. It was something that she'd once felt from Darth Magus and occasionally from some of the other Masters on Korriban, and it hadn't been directed at her, but instead at one of the Wielders who had just cut loose with a particularly fierce blast of Force lightning. What she felt was approval.

Throughout her entire life, Talon had struggled to put forth her best efforts for her Masters back on Korriban, but never once had she received their praise. Never once had she been given their approval. Not even her formidable saber skills that few could match or compete with, had ever gained any praise or approval.

These Jedi seemed so different from what she and the others had been taught. Not only had mind boggling opportunities been handed to her, but twice now, _twice_ she'd been given praise when she wasn't exactly sure what she'd done to earn it. Once again, Talon couldn't help but wonder what her life might have been like had she lived here instead of Korriban. With a start, Talon realized that the Jedi was still watching her intently, and she looked up to see what the Jedi wanted.

"I'm sorry that I didn't have the time to thank you earlier, but I will now. Thank you for helping Kaldin. He might have been killed if you hadn't put yourself at risk to protect him. If you don't mind my asking, how long have you been taking lessons in lightsaber combat?" Kirana said sincerely.

"I don't know. I think the first thing I can remember is being really cold while standing in line waiting to be handed my first short training saber. I know Darth Magus had taken some things away from us, but I don't know what it was. He told us that we would learn the art of lightsaber combat or we would die by his hand. One of the students complained about being cold and he killed them with Force lightning. That was when I knew that he wanted to kill all of us. So I learned how to be better than he was, but he didn't like that either. He hated all of us no matter how much we learned or how hard we tried. I know that I was a lot smaller then, because I wasn't even as tall as his belt." Talon answered softly without looking up from the table.

"How old were you when this happened?" Kirana asked curiously.

"I don't know." Talon answered.

That reply brought a whole slew of questions to the Jedi's mind, but before she could ask any of those questions, she became aware that someone was approaching her from behind by the shift in Talon's gaze as the girl looked up at them.

"Mind if we join you?" A voice asked from behind her.

Kirana turned to see Leia accompanied by four council members as she approached the table. "Not at all. Perhaps you can help me find out a little more about Talon here. I've been trying to talk to her, but she seems on edge for some reason. She also seems to be in a lot of pain as well."

"Talon, has your leg started hurting you?" Cilghal asked quickly.

Talon shook her head slightly in answer.

"Were you hit by any of the remotes while you were defending Kaldin?" The healer countered.

"There wasn't enough of them to hit me, but I've never tried to keep someone else from getting hit, and I'm not sure if I did it right." Talon answered shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it Talon, you did just fine, but we need to know if you're hurting, and why." Leia said as she sat down to the right of Kirana.

Leia watched as Talon's gaze slid even lower than it had been, and she realized that Talon only did such things when she didn't really want to answer a question. With that in mind she held up her left hand to hold off any further questions while she spoke again.

"Talon. Why are you hurting?" Leia asked firmly.

"Because punishments are supposed to hurt." She whispered fearfully.

"Mark me for a fool!" Cilghal burst out angrily. "Talon when was the last time you were punished with Force lightning?" She demanded as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"It was my fault... I knew not to disarm him in a training session." Talon protested softly.

"Tell me when." Cilghal demanded not letting it go.

"The... The day before the Guardians ate everyone." Talon whispered plaintively.

"Please, excuse me for a moment. I'll be right back." Cilghal said as she left the cafeteria hurriedly.

Talon's eyes remained focused on the healer as she left. She could sense anger, and something else that she couldn't define emanating from the healer, but she knew that both emotions had something to do with her. She knew that the Jedi at the table were staring at her, watching her, but she wasn't about to ask why. She could sense that most of them were in a fairly good mood, and in her experience that didn't bode well for anyone. She watched out of the corner of her eyes as Master Leia sat down, followed by Masters Sebatyne, Katarn, and Tionne.

"Am I to understand that you were punished for disarming your instructor?" Kirana asked curiously.

Talon nodded her head cautiously.

The Dathomir Jedi shook her head in confusion. "What, no... _Why_ would you even have an instructor given the level of skill that I saw you using?"

"I'll answer that one for you." Master Katarn spoke up. "Her Sith Master was determined to humiliate her one day and made her use a saberstaff in each hand. The first time it happened, things went exactly as he planned, but after that, well... she had time to figure things out and eventually developed a Jar Kai version of saberstaff combat. She calls it the Whirlus Form, and my guess is that's what they were training in. He wasn't actually teaching her. She was teaching _him_. He just wanted to learn everything he could from her before he killed her." Master Katarn finished with a shake of his head. "With saber skills like hers, it probably won't be long before they put her in a class with _us_ as her students!"

"From the way she just stood there, holding her ground while protecting Kaldin, it was like she wasn't going to give up no matter what, so that doesn't surprise me. I'm just glad that Kaldin's still alive after those remotes malfunctioned like that." Kirana said in a relieved tone.

"The techs will figure that one out, and find out why it went haywire like that. I want some answers on that one." Kyle muttered determinedly.

"You aren't the only one Master Katarn. That remote should have shut down when Kaldin's lightsaber deactivated, again when he fell to the floor, and still again when everyone was out of range, and then a fourth time when Talon struck it while fending them off. She had to physically disable that remote before it ceased its attack." Kirana stated angrily.

"I tried not to damage it." Talon said in a near whisper.

"That's something you don't have to worry about, Talon. You did what needed to be done, and you did just fine." Leia told her easily.

"So, _Master_ Solo. What's going to be the first thing on the agenda for your new apprentice?" Kyle asked her with a grin while changing the subject.

"Well, a lot will depend on what Cilghal wants to let her do, but I thought I'd give her the rest of today to acclimate to the Order before I start tossing her into a bunch of classes. I also want to know about any other skills she's got besides those that involve combat." Leia answered seriously. "She doesn't have a clue about how we do things here, and that's what she needs to learn. I don't want her trying to shove an entire meal in her mouth at once, and I don't want her going around expecting to be tortured or killed for the slightest mistake. What she endured on Korriban will _not_ be a part of her life here, and I'm going to see to that."

"That reminds me. Nice work on the lessons in table manners. She wouldn't even touch a sandwich, until Ben and I showed her how to eat it." Kyle replied with a grin.

"I forgot about the finger foods, but I'll work on that at a later time. For now, she knows the basics, and that's what counts." Leia replied.

Although she was listening to every word that was spoken, and who had said it, Talon was more than partly distracted by what she was sensing through the Force. Emotions from those at the table, along with those she was unable to see, were flooding through her mind, as were her own emotions. Shock and bewilderment vied with the feelings from countless others, as Talon tried to understand how all of this had happened. She felt a strong sense of calm emanating from her Master's mind, and she tried to grab on to that presence as if those emotions were an anchor.

Talon had often experienced a storm of emotional chaos while on Korriban, but it had all centered around a few select emotions. Here, there was a confusing madhouse of torrential emotions that she couldn't ignore as she had while back on Korriban, there was far too much interference from too many minds for her to do that. She understood that these Jedi considered her saber skills to be impressive, and that some of them wanted to learn those saber skills, but how would they treat her when they had them? Would they be like Darth Magus, and want to kill her after learning everything she had to offer? Would they toss her aside and expel her from the order, or would they do exactly what she had been taught they would, and kill her as a Sith?

Never before had Talon bothered to think about her future. She hadn't done so because whatever prospects she'd been able to foresee had always been bleak, and devoid of anything except more torment and suffering. Now, she was sure that her future contained much of the same, except for the fact that she'd been made an apprentice.

An apprentice: a younger member assigned to a specific Master for the purpose of learning the ways and uses of the Force: A coveted rank that aptly illustrates the potential, and worth of the student so assigned: A position signifying that certain specific skills have been mastered and that more advanced training is indicated.

It was this single off center thruster that kept Talon's mental ship going in circles. Why would the Jedi want to kill her if she'd been made an apprentice? It was true that she didn't sense anywhere close to the level of the hostility that had always been present on Korriban, but surely that didn't change the way things were. She wasn't considered worthy of being a true Sith, yet these Jedi seemed to claim that she was somehow worthy of being one of them. Did that mean that the Jedi were some how less skilled than the Sith were? If that were true, then how could these Jedi be considered the threat that Darth Magus had always made them out to be?

Talon had no idea how to answer any of these questions, and it certainly didn't help that she was distracted by the countless minds that she could sense on this world. What she did know, was that she was sitting at a table with five Jedi, one of which was now her Master, while waiting for a sixth Jedi to return. Talon knew that just two days ago, she would have been trying to run or hide from these Jedi, but instead of doing either of those things, she was still sitting at the table, having followed the instructions that she'd been given by a Jedi.

Talon would never have dreamed of such a drastic change in her life. Everything that had happened seemed as if it weren't real somehow, yet she knew that all of it was far too real, and that here she was, a failed Sith, in the hands of the Jedi. She didn't want to fight the Jedi, nor would she have tried. Such thoughts never entered her mind; instead, she tried to focus on what she was supposed to do now.

Talon was startled out of her thoughts when she felt someone approaching while focusing on her. She looked up to see that Master Cilghal had returned, and that she had a hypo injection in her hands. She swallowed hard as the healer approached the table and came right up to her.

Cilghal saw Talon stiffen in her chair as she approached the table, and nearly shook her head in exasperation. The girl was definitely going to have to learn not to be terrified of everyone around her.

"This is a combination injection of Bacta serum, and pain killer. It will not only help your leg heal faster, but it will also help with the pain from your over sensitized nervous system. I'm well aware of the various effects of Force lightning, and how some of those effects make you feel afterward. I wish you'd told me about this yesterday, Talon. I could have given you something to relieve the pain much sooner." Cilghal told the girl kindly. "I know you'll be hurting for quite a while, so when the pain returns, come see me, and I'll give you something for it."

The Mon Cal healer gave Talon the injection without any protests from the girl, and she was surprised that she didn't have to argue with Talon about it. Once she'd administered the medication, Cilghal took an empty seat at the table between Kirana and Kyle.

"Now. What did I miss?" Cilghal asked when she took her seat.

"Well... let's see. Leia told us about what she plans on having Talon do today, which is a lot of nothing, until you give her clearance for physical activity. Then, I believe that you missed about ten minutes of Talon sitting there, looking at the table, and moping." Kyle answered jokingly while grinning and winking at the healer.

Cilghal looked over at Talon, who was once again looking down at the table with an air of melancholy doom hanging about her. If she were to try to find a perfect image of someone expecting to be executed, she need look no further than right across the table at Talon. She knew that they'd have to find someway of bringing the girl out of that shell of hers, and maybe, just maybe, including her in their jokes might help.

"Talon, are you moping? That's not very good for your health you know." Cilghal admonished jokingly.

Talon looked over at the healer, before she glanced at each of the Jedi. She wasn't sure how to voice most of the questions in her mind without making them angry at her. Trying to think was like trying to listen for a single voice in a very crowded and noisy room, but she'd been asked a question that she had to answer.

"How can I be a Jedi, if I was too weak to be a Sith?" Talon asked softly after shaking her head.

"Talon, we've had many Jedi that were Sith, or who were associated with the Sith at one time or another. Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker, Master Luke Skywalker was also a Sith once. He even studied under a clone of Palpatine. Master Kyp Durron, who asked you why you wanted to be a Jedi? Well, he was never actually trained as a Sith, but he did turn to the Darkside for a while during the Vong war. So, you wouldn't be the first, or even the only Sith we've taken in. You'd just be the latest addition to our ranks." Kyle said candidly.

Leia watched with interest as Talon listened to the explanation carefully. She could tell that the girl was listening by the expression of concentration on her face. She was almost startled when she realized that this was a perfect opportunity to put some of the knowledge that she'd gained from the journal of Darth Magus to a very good use.

"There's something else you should think about Talon. Darth Magus made a very serious mistake, and he didn't even realize it." Leia began solemnly.

When Talon looked at her curiously, Leia was certain that she had the girl's undivided attention. "He taught you and all the others, that the tarentatek were the Guardians of Sith strength, didn't he? And just how many did he manage to kill?"

"Darth... Darth Magus killed one of them, and he was going to attack another one, but one of them grabbed him from behind and ate him. I... I remember the way he screamed." Talon answered timidly.

"That's right Talon. He died. They ate him. That proves that he wasn't worthy of claiming the title of Sith, and if he wasn't a true Sith, then he couldn't teach you to be a true Sith, now could he?" Leia stated confidently.

Leia knew that she wasn't arguing this topic anywhere even close to fairly, after all, she had a few decades of practice in the political arenas of both the Empire and the New Republic, and Talon had absolutely no experience in debating from a specific standpoint. The crestfallen expression on the girl's face told her that she'd more or less won her argument by default. Now she simply needed to make her point and drive it home.

The words that the Jedi spoke sent dozens of questions flying through her mind. Talon knew the Jedi was right. She had to be. Darth Magus had said so himself, many times, but if he wasn't a true Sith, and he couldn't teach her to be a true Sith, then what was she?

"But..." Talon tried to argue plaintively even though she didn't have the slightest clue where to begin.

"There are no 'buts' Talon. Darth Magus could not have been a true Sith Lord. He was eaten by one of the Guardians, and that's all there is to it. _You_ on the other hand, did _not_ get eaten by the Guardians; they weren't able to kill you either. He may have fooled himself into thinking that he was a Sith, but he did do one thing right." Leia informed her.

Leia could see that she'd have to be just a tad bit careful in her next few statements, because she could see that not only was Talon starting to question everything she'd ever been taught, but she was also ready to start crying over the loss of both her past, and everything else she'd ever known.

"The one thing Darth Magus did right was to start your training. Had he lived, and you had continued to train under him for several more years, you might have ended up as a true Sith. One who would be even more powerful than he was. But all he gave you was the basic training. The same kind of basic training that we give our students before they are chosen by a Master to be an apprentice. We do give our students training in other areas before they can become an apprentice, but none of them have basic skills that are anywhere close to yours, and _that_ is why you have been made my apprentice. I don't know of anyplace where you can learn to become a Sith, but I _can_ and with help, I _will_ teach you to become a Jedi. And I hope that one day; you'll be teaching others to be Jedi as well." Leia told her honestly.

"But, he was going to kill me. Darth Magus never would have finished my training because he hated me." Talon replied morosely as she looked back down at the table.

"That's right Talon. He did hate you. He hated you because he was jealous. Jealous of your skills, and jealous because he knew that you were better than he was. I know that your saber skills are better than those of anyone else in the Order. Am I jealous? Yes, I am a little jealous. I'll admit that, but then, I'm also a little jealous of my brother's saber skills, and you'll probably meet others who also envy your saber skills. Many of us want to learn what you can teach us Talon, but we don't want charity. We don't want you to just give us something like that. Instead, we're going to teach you what we know. We'll teach you things that you don't know, so you can teach _us_ a Form that we don't know." Leia explained sincerely.

Total confusion was all over the girl's face as she struggled to understand what she'd just been told. Everyone at the table could see it in her face as she tried desperately to come up with some type of counter to what she'd just been told. Disbelief, confusion, fear, and apprehension flickered across her face in an odd rotating sequence as she tried in vain to make sense of all this new information.

With all of the confusion in her mind, Talon couldn't help but give voice to the one question that kept leaping to the forefront of her thoughts. "Aren't you going to kill me after you learn the Whirlus Form?"

Leia wasn't the only one at the table to experience a flash of anger, outrage, and disgust at the question, but she was the first to react to it. She got up out of chair, went around the table, and squatted down next to the girl who would have been her mortal enemy. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a brief moment to open herself to the Force, so that the girl would know she was telling the truth.

Leia reached out and took the girl's face in both hands as she turned Talon's head to face her. "Talon, I'm only going to say this once, and I want you to listen to me very carefully, and understand every word of what I tell you. We... Don't... Do... That!..." She said speaking each word clearly and separately. "You are a Jedi now, and that means you are one of us, and therefore a member of our family. Not only are we _not_ going to kill you, but we will also protect you. Just like you protected what's his name... uh... Kaldin! That's it! Just like you protected him, I'll protect you. As long as you are a member of this order, you have nothing to fear from any of us! As long as you are my apprentice, and you do as I instruct, and you learn what I have to teach you, then you have nothing to be afraid of. I'll fight to protect you and so will any other Jedi. Do you understand that?" She said firmly, and clearly to make sure the girl heard every word.

Talon gaped at her Master. She'd sensed that every last word was true. She was so close, and what she was feeling was so strong that those emotions overwhelmed almost all of the other minds that Talon had been sensing, and the sincerity pouring from her was something Talon couldn't mistake. The blunt, brutal honesty was so raw, so obvious, that Talon couldn't misinterpret it for anything else. Several emotions rose to prominence in Talon's mind at that moment, with doubt and disbelief being the only two that she was familiar with.

Looking into the girl's eyes, Leia could sense the emotional war being waged in the girl's mind even as the expressions flashed across her face. Desperation, hope, fear, desire, confusion, and doubt. She knew that she needed to get through to the girl, but that was not going to prove to be easy after a lifetime of horror and misery. She knew that convincing someone of the truth after being exposed to nothing but lies and betrayal would not, _could not_ be easy.

"Talon, I know you don't believe me, but I want you to ask yourself one question. If I were going to kill you because you're a Sith, wouldn't I have done that when I first found out that you were a Sith?" Leia asked her clearly.

As soon as she heard her Master ask that question, it rang in her mind almost continuously as she tried to come up with an answer. All reason, logic, and sense seemed to abandon her as she pondered the question that had been posed to her. Nothing, absolutely nothing she could come up with, would explain the actions of the Jedi. No type of lie or form of betrayal that Talon was familiar with provided a reason for those actions. The only thing that seemed to answer that question was what the Jedi had told her.

"Talon. I don't want you to answer that question for me; I want you to find the answer to that question, so that _you_ will know what it is." Leia told her as she started to stand up.

The newly promoted Jedi Master looked the girl over one last time and noticed the small burn mark on the sleeve of the girl's right forearm. She reached down and took hold of the arm in question to get a better look at it. Closer examination showed that the cloth was a little scorched, but that Talon wasn't injured otherwise.

Leia sighed heavily, and shook her head. A glance at her chronometer told her that the girl had actually been at the Academy for slightly less than twenty four hours. This was _not_ what she'd intended for the girl's first day at the Academy. Leia knew that Talon had been terrified by various possibilities that ranged from being killed, up to death by exile. Then there was even a threat of being stuck into a bacta tank, not to mention a saber fight with Ben Skywalker, and another with a score of remotes, and that wasn't even taking into consideration the fact that both fights had taken place while the girl was standing on a broken leg she'd received only a few hours earlier. She'd been given a caffeine overdose, and then she'd been gotten rambling drunk by a pair of Jedi who only wanted to find out a little more about her.

Upon considering everything that had happened on Talon's first day, Leia shook her head in surprise. She could only hold on to the hope that the rest of the week would prove to be very uneventful, but with the girl's background and Sith training, she knew that it was most likely wishful thinking, since problems were bound to arise from that area.

It would have truly surprised the Jedi to learn just how vastly different her thoughts were in comparison to those of her new apprentice. Where Leia considered Talon's first twenty four hours at the Academy to be a total disaster because of the various mishaps that had befallen the girl, Talon's mind was reeling both from the vast realm of various possibilities that were being given to her, and from the drastic changes in her life. Leia never thought to consider that for Talon, being tormented, receiving massive amounts of pain, receiving threats of death, and being in fear of her life were a daily occurrence. The opportunities that had been offered to her on the other hand, were so far out of the ordinary, so unusual, that Talon was having a very difficult time believing them.

Talon looked up just as the server droid placed a cup filled with a steaming warm beverage in front of her. She didn't know what it was except that it wasn't as dark as the caf she'd had earlier. Leaning forward to smell the stuff in the cup, she discovered that it had a strange smell, but one that seemed to entice her into trying the stuff at the same time.

"It's called Broulahn tea, Talon. It's very popular here since it helps stimulate the mind while relaxing the body at the same time. Most people here drink it to help them meditate. You can add _small_ amounts of sweetener or cream to it if you want, but nothing like what you did to the caf at breakfast. No more than three spoons of each." Leia told the girl.

Talon remembered the incredibly strong flavor of the caf she'd fixed at breakfast. It had been unbelievably strong, but it was also something she wouldn't mind having again. After years of living on emergency rations, Talon was well accustomed to the overpowering taste and smell of those packets of food. The kinds of food that these Jedi were giving her did have different tastes and smells that were appealing, but none of them were anywhere close to being as intensely strong as what she was used to.

Talon enfolded the steaming cup in her hands and although she couldn't have said what she felt emotionally, she delighted in the pleasant heat that saturated her hands. She lifted the cup and took a small sip to see what it tasted like. It didn't have the strong taste of caf, but it still wasn't anything she was familiar with. She decided that it was something she could drink instead of caf. She began to drink the tea the way she'd been shown the night before.

"Hey Princess. Look what the mynocks dragged in." Han called out as he entered the cafeteria.

Leia turned to see her husband in the company of her brother and nephew, and smiled happily. "Talk about perfect timing. You three made it here just in time for a little impromptu celebration."

"Really? What's the occasion?" Han asked brightening noticeably, feeling that he could use some good news after the morning he'd had.

"Leia Organa Solo, who was once my apprentice, and this morning was a Jedi Knight, now holdz the prestigious rank of Jedi Master. Not only that, but she also has an apprentice in the form of Talon who was also accepted into the order this morning." Saba answered happily.

"Sounds like a fairly decent reason to me. Especially considering she was up all night racking her brains, trying to make sure the kid made the cut. Besides, new Masters are always allowed some kind of small celebration." Han quipped with a grin.

"So Talon. How's it feel to be a Jedi now?" Ben asked her amiably as he grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it over so he could sit next to the girl. He was watching her curiously as he spun the chair around and sat casually with his arms resting on the back of it.

Talon glanced over at the Jedi she'd met, and fought the night before. A quick look around her showed her that serving droids were bringing the Jedi who were already at the table a kind of drink she'd never seen before. Talon thought about how to answer the question that she'd been asked, because she wasn't really sure how to do so. When she thought about how she felt, she couldn't tell any real difference. The only difference that she was aware of was that she wasn't hurting anywhere near as much as she would have been back on Korriban. Right now, she knew that thanks to the injection that Master Cilghal had given her, that she wasn't even hurting nearly as much as she had when she woke up.

"It doesn't hurt as much." She answered quietly.

"Well, that is _not_ the kind of answer I would have expected to hear to that question." Kyle said bluntly after snorting in surprise.

"No kidding!" Ben began before he was interrupted.

"I take it that the pain injection is starting to work then. That's good Talon. Sustained Force lightning causes your nervous system to overload, so that you're able to feel very few sensations except pain. When you start hurting again, come see me or tell your Master, and I'll make sure to give you something for it." Cilghal said informatively.

Talon was nodding her head to acknowledge the healer, while at the same time Leia had narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"That's why she didn't complain when I was getting the tangles and snarls out of her hair, isn't it?" Leia asked as she turned to Cilghal.

"That's exactly why. Right now, because of the Force lightning that she's been subjected to, her nervous system is so over sensitized by the additional energy, that the nerve endings in her body don't differentiate between pleasant sensations and painful ones. So almost everything she feels is interpreted as pain. Right now, she probably can't feel much of any difference between a friendly caress across her shoulders, or a slap across her face." Cilghal lectured seriously. "Fortunately, the bacta injections will help remedy that and her leg as well."

"Talon, I apologize. If I'd realized just how much pain you were in, I'd have made sure that you'd seen Cilghal earlier." Leia said to the girl.

Talon set down her tea and glanced over at her Master. "I don't understand. How is that wrong?"

"How is what wrong?" Ben asked curiously.

"You apologize when you know that you did something wrong and you don't want the other person to be angry at you." Talon answered repeating what she'd been taught.

"That's right Talon. That's exactly what an apology is for. I was wrong by letting you suffer through pain when something could have been done about it." Leia answered her.

"But punishments are supposed to be painful so you don't repeat the mistake that earned the punishment." Talon replied softly while looking at her cup.

"Like hell! Maybe among the Sith, or with a bunch of Hutts, but nowhere else in the galaxy that I know of. Punishments are supposed to teach you, not kill you!" Han exploded angrily.

Talon flinched and cringed away from the man's anger. She was just starting to get relief from her constant pain, and she didn't want anyone to give her more of it.

Captain Han Solo saw the girl nearly jump out of her skin at his outburst, and he knew that his anger had caused that reaction. He recognized the same expression of fear that he'd seen in the girl's quarters earlier that morning. He knew that she was scared of him right now, that she was worried that he might hurt her because he was angry, and he knew that he was going to try to break her of that little habit right now.

"Look kid. Unless you broke the rules just now, then there is no reason to punish you. As far as things like that go, and out of everyone at this table, I'd be the one you have to worry about, and I don't even do things like that. Sure I get mad, and I yell, and sometimes I even throw things around, but I _don't_ take my anger out on people that don't deserve it! No one here does, and no one's going to either." Han explained heatedly.

Talon was still gaping at the man when Ben leaned closer to her and whispered loudly.

"Hey, don't worry about him. He's a big softy. He might have the bark of a Rancor, but he's got the bite of a gizka. He's harmless! Between you and me, he doesn't even know which end of a lightsaber to hold." Ben told her in a loud but conspiratorial whisper.

Leia leaned her right elbow on her husband's left shoulder, and smiled as she looked at him. "Sweetheart, you might as well give it up. We know you far too well. You talk tough, but that's as far as it goes, and we all know it. So there's no use in trying to make Talon think you're anything but an overgrown cuddle toy."

Han looked back at Talon with an expression of wounded disbelief on his face. "Now do you see what I have to put up with?" He asked rhetorically.

"You might as well face it Han. Your reputation has gotten ahead of you. Almost everyone in the galaxy knows that the only time you've ever hurt anyone was either in self defense or when helping someone else. Otherwise, you tend to let Leia handle things." Luke joked.

Han looked at his brother in law with a quizzical expression. "Hey. I can't help it if she's that good with a lightsaber. Besides, what good is being married to a Jedi, if you don't do something to take advantage of it?" He asked with a wide grin.

Her tea sat on the table still enfolded in her hands while Talon gaped at everyone with wide eyes in stunned disbelief. She knew that jokes and even some insults were being passed around, but no one was angry. Instead, everyone seemed to radiate the same emotions that she'd felt from Darth Magus when he was punishing someone. She knew that back on Korriban, a _very_ deadly fight would have already broken out with a lot of people being left dead when it was over. She sat there in total silence, trying to watch everyone at the table. She was positive that a fight was going to occur, and she knew that she didn't want to be a part of it.

"Well. Let me just say this. We've seen a lot of Sith, and we've seen quite a few Jedi turn to the Darkside, but now we've got a Sith right here at this table, and we are presented with the opportunity to see the newest Master among the Jedi ranks take this Sith, and turn her into a Jedi. So, here's to the newest Master and apprentice team. May they never have a dull moment." Han was saying with a grin as he raised his mug of ale.

Talon watched as everyone at the table raised their drinks and held it towards the center of the table. Not knowing what she should do, she sat there and silently tried to understand what was happening around her. That Leia was now a Master Jedi was something she felt strangely about. She didn't know the name for the emotion that she was feeling, but that didn't matter to her at that moment. Others were offering praise for the fact that Leia had just been made a Jedi Master, and that _was_ important.

Just because she didn't know the names of certain emotions, or the words to describe them, didn't mean that she couldn't _feel_ those emotions. She didn't know the word for gratitude, but it was still something she felt rather strongly, because of everything that had been done for her and all of it by a certain Jedi who was now a Master. Leia had helped her, and was still helping her. Talon still wasn't sure as to why, but the claim that it was her job, didn't seem right. To her the older Jedi seemed like something beyond belief. Nothing in her experience had ever prepared her to meet someone like Leia. Someone that would offer protection, guidance, instruction, information, knowledge and assistance, and all without causing pain in return for any of it. She didn't know why the Jedi had offered her everything she'd been given, but she did know that she would readily try to do whatever her new Master asked of her. She was still trying to watch and understand what the Jedi were doing when she was brought out of her thoughts by someone speaking to her.

"Come on. Raise your cup and hold it up next to ours. This is called a 'toast', and we use a toast to wish someone well in a new endeavor, or position. Right now, we're toasting my Aunt Leia to congratulate her on her new rank of Jedi Master, and to hope that she does well at it." Ben informed her casually.

Talon took her cup in her right hand and held it out to the middle of the table where everyone else's drink was being held.

"To Leia... May she serve the Order well, and may her new apprentice never discover the reason why she was the scourge of the Empire." Han quipped jovially.

Leia cast a narrow eyed glance at her husband on that one, but didn't respond to it. "To Talon as well..." Here Leia looked over at her new apprentice speculatively as she tried to think of something worthwhile that didn't contain any detrimental implications. "May she learn to be happy with us."

Several voices seconded those sentiments, while other simply said cheers, but either way, everyone at the table wished both of the recipients well. Drink containers clinked together and everyone quickly drank a sip to seal the toast. Talon was a little slower than everyone else since she didn't know what to do, but mimicking their actions wasn't hard.

After taking a sip of her tea, she went to set the cup down on the table, when the cup suddenly fell from her hands to spill on the table. With the state of near starvation in which she'd lived, Talon had never wasted or spilled anything before, and the sheer disbelief that set in caused her mind to go completely blank. She remembered Leia teaching her that once something fell from her dish that she wasn't to consume it. Her tea was now running over the table, and she had no idea what to do about it. She had acted quickly to right her cup, but she didn't know what to do about the rest of the tea on the table.

Kirana Ti, who'd been sitting directly across from Talon, easily noticed her problem, and grabbed several napkins from a rack at the center of the table with the intent of handing them to the girl. She sensed the Force being used by the girl and looked from Talon, to the spilled tea. The girl was trying to use the Force to retrieve the spilled tea and wasn't succeeding.

The Dathomir Jedi quickly dropped the napkins into the spill to clean up the mess.

"Do you not know what napkins are for?" She asked Talon in a disbelieving tone.

"Master Leia taught me last night that when I am eating, I should always put a napkin in my lap to wipe my face and hands with." She answered nervously.

Kirana Ti looked over at Leia with an odd expression. "Why would you need to teach her that?"

"Talon's never seen tableware before, so last night I taught her most of the basics in dinning etiquette. I know I left out a lot, such as finger foods and spills, but at least she's not trying to clean that spill by drinking it off the table." Leia said in a slightly defensive huff.

Kirana had no idea how to respond to that, so instead she concentrated on getting the spill contained by piling napkins on it.

"Your hands are numb right now, aren't they Talon?" Luke asked her gently.

When the girl nodded her head without looking up from the spill, Luke continued. "You can blame her Sith Masters for this one." He said heavily.

"Why? Because her hands are numb?" Ben asked in surprise.

"Exactly. I was in a very similar condition for several days after facing Palpatine. I'm actually not sure how much longer I could have held on if my father hadn't intervened, and thrown Palpatine into the reactor core. My nervous system was so overloaded from the Force lightning that I couldn't even hold a lightsaber for almost a week. I had to use a lot of pain injections for several days, and I kept dropping things from fingers that couldn't feel what I was trying to hold. Talon will be the same way for a while." Luke explained.

Talon was gaping at the Jedi Master in open mouthed disbelief and shock.

"You fought Lord Sidious and lived?" She asked still gaping at Luke.

"Only because my father saved me, Talon. If he hadn't turned from the Darkside, and just stayed out of it, I would have been killed. Instead, he turned against his former Master and redeemed himself by saving my life and the lives of countless others." Luke elaborated seriously.

Talon stared at the Jedi as her mind raced in disbelief. Then statements made by other Jedi, including her new Master began to collide within her mind, and suddenly she knew, Talon _knew_! This was the Jedi who had been there when both Sidious and Vader had died. This was someone who not only knew what happened, but someone who could tell her the truth of what _really_ happened during those events. It was a startling revelation, and one that rocked her to her core as she considered it. She was still in the midst of that revelation, when her Master spoke.

"Talon has been taught to revere Darth Vader. Personally, I can't think of a better role model, _especially_ when you consider his final turn to the light." Leia told her brother meaningfully.

"Did Lord Vader really die as a Jedi?" Talon asked in a near whisper while staring in wide eyed disbelief.

Luke flashed his sister an odd look before he gave the girl a warm smile. "Yes, Talon, he did. And I don't know if he'd ever been as happy as he was during those final moments. Being a Sith Lord doesn't really give you anything to be happy about and certainly nothing to be proud of. But being a Jedi, protecting, and helping others, that was something that made him happy, and it was also something for him to be proud of. It doesn't matter what your old Sith Masters told you Talon, I know that my father would want you to become a Jedi, and if he were here, he would tell you that."

"But... But Darth Magus always said that Lord Vader was a perfect Sith. That he was more powerful than we could ever hope to become." Talon whispered piteously.

Luke had to chuckle a little at that, but there was a rueful tone to his laughter. "Oh yes. He was _very_ powerful, and highly skilled. In fact he was my first real opponent, and at the time, I didn't even know who he was."

As she stared at the Jedi in astonishment, her gaze dropped to the black glove on the Jedi's right hand. The same hand that he'd shown her the day before. The Jedi Master saw were the girl was looking, and smiled sardonically.

"Yes Talon, Darth Vader is the one who cut my hand off the first time I faced him. He was a very deadly opponent, very skilled and very dangerous. In that first fight, he could have killed me any time he wanted to. But he didn't! Deep down, Talon. Even then, _years_ before I ever faced Palpatine, my father hated being a Sith. He hated what he'd become. Then years later, when I faced him again. I wasn't as ready as I thought I was, and Palpatine beat me easily, but my father, Darth Vader was almost waiting for the chance to become Anakin Skywalker once more, and he did. I held him in my arms as he died, Talon, and he was glad that I had come with the intention of turning him back to the Lightside of the Force."

Talon stared open mouthed at the Jedi. She knew that he was telling her the truth because she could sense it. There were several emotions whirling through the Jedi's mind at that point, and though they were dim and muted somehow, she could still sense them. She didn't know what a lot of those feelings were, but she was able to recognize the honesty, the truth, and the sincerity that was contained in his words.

Talon struggled to understand everything. From what he'd just told her, this Jedi had faced Lord Vader not once, but _twice_, and not only survived, but also faced Lord Sidious and survived that encounter as well. She knew the Jedi had to be far more powerful and skilled than he'd told her, and the fact that he would hide his strength and skill would force any opponents to underestimate him, and that was more than a little frightening. Suddenly, Talon felt a massive chill sweep through her body as she realized that this Jedi had already agreed to help teach her, and improve her skills!

"Are you going to teach me too?" Talon asked Luke softy.

"Of course he is. All of the Masters here will be teaching you at one time or another. There will be history classes, tech repair classes, and most students your age are in some type of class to learn better saber skills, but I think we can skip that one, since you already know even more about it than I do." Leia answered quickly.

"But... I... I have to train or the Whirlus form will never be finished." She protested softly.

"You won't have to worry about that. We'll make sure that you have the free time to work on that _after_ your bones are at their proper strength, and your leg has healed, but _not_ before! I realize that you are most likely more skilled with a lightsaber than you've been telling us, but accidents can still happen." Cilghal told her firmly.

Talon nodded to acknowledge the instructions, and looked down at her nearly empty cup that was now being used to hold the soiled napkins that had been used to clean up the spill. Several emotions were going through her mind that she was barely able to recognize as hers.

Not sure what she was supposed to do, she put her hands in her lap, and sat there staring at the table. She wasn't going to yield to the constant pull she felt from the Force, because of the presence of so many Masters. She didn't want to be punished for failing to answer a question the first time. She watched a droid approach the table and finish cleaning up the remains of the spilled tea before trundling off to where ever it had come from. The droid returned a minute later with a fresh cup, which was placed directly in front of her, and Talon gaped, not only at the tea, but at the droid as well.

A rhythmic hissing sound and a familiar emotion drew her attention to the reptilian Jedi Master who was sitting on the other end of the table.

"You will learn some thingz while you are here little one. We Jedi do not use the methodz of the Sith." Saba said lightly.

"Saba's right Talon. You won't go hungry here. We won't let you get as big as a Hutt, but we will make sure that you have plenty to eat and drink. Later, I'll come up with a schedule for you. You'll be assigned a few different Masters who will begin teaching you in various areas. For example, some of the things you'll learn is how to maintain your lightsabers, and your thermal modulators on your belt." Leia told her.

Talon nodded her head to signify that she understood the instructions, but wasn't certain that she wanted any Master other than the one she'd been assigned to.

"Hey dad! Speaking of lightsabers, you would not _believe_ the kind of skills she's got! I'll admit that when I saw that red blade of hers, I lost it, okay. I went at her with every thing I had, and nothing I did could even make her take a step back! Kyle told me last night that you plan on taking a few lessons from her. All I can say is; make sure you let me know when it happens so I can learn a few things too." Ben said animatedly.

"I watched her defend one of our newest students against two dozen remotes that were malfunctioning. I saw her use Jar Kai version of _Ataru_ against those remotes! And you attacked her in earnest? If she truly were a Sith, then you would not be here now." Kirana said as she looked back and forth between Ben and Talon.

"Hey, don't I know it! I gave her my absolute best, and it wasn't even good enough to make her put her heels to the floor! But that wasn't the kicker. The kicker was what I saw when I first walked in. She was using a pair of rods to practice a double saberstaff technique!" Ben exclaimed.

"Yes, and I'm sure that while the theory behind that Form is easy to learn, the actual _practice_ of it is going to be tough! Don't think for one instant that I'm going to let her go easy on us when she starts teaching us either! Talon's presence here provides us with an opportunity that I won't allow the order to squander. Besides, she's also mastered the other seven forms of lightsaber combat too you know, so she can give out lessons there as well. I think we'll _all_ be learning a few things from her." Luke added in seriously.

Kirana turned her attention back to the girl sitting across from her in amazement. She took in the fact the Talon's feet didn't even reach the floor, and she knew that the girl had to be very young.

"But... she's… too young to have learned such techniques." Kirana protested finally.

"Actually, Talon is about thirteen standard years old and almost everything that wasn't related to combat has been deliberately left out of her education. It's an oversight that I plan to correct." Leia informed the Dathomir native before she turned to the subject of the discussion. "You're going to learn a lot more than just different kinds of food, Talon."

"Speaking of which, those metabolic enhancers I've given her means that she needs to eat something. What would you like to eat, Talon?" Cilghal rumbled.

Talon gaped at the healer in disbelief. She'd just eaten a few short hours ago, and back on Korriban, there was no way that she would have been offered anything else, no matter _how_ hungry she was. She nodded her head dumbly at the offer of extra food.

"Why not give her a bowl of bantha stew and tak bread? Uncle Owen used to swear by the stuff. He was always telling me that it would put some meat on my bones." Luke suggested casually.

"That sounds like an excellent idea! She hasn't had any type of soup yet so she can learn proper table manners for it, and it will give her some variety to choose from the next time she gets hungry." Leia reasoned.


	9. Chapter 9

Talon accepted the reader and the data module containing the rules and basic tenets of the Jedi Order that Leia held out to her. She immediately plugged the module in and activated the reader so she could study the rules that she would be expected to follow and abide by. She blinked in confusion at the rules against violence, and those against fighting among the students. It never occurred to her to ask any of the questions about why the rules were that way; instead, she simply concentrated on trying to remember them.

Leia watched Talon quietly as the girl focused on the data reader. She could sense the apprehension in her new apprentice as the girl chewed lightly at her bottom lip while she studied the regulations on the pad. It was then that she also noticed the quick shallow breaths that the girl was taking as she studied the information on the data pad.

'_Her clothes might be regulating the environmental temperature for her body, but they're not doing anything about the surrounding air.'_ Leia thought with a frown.

"Talon, would you like to go cool off for a while?" Leia asked her.

Talon froze as she looked up at her Master nervously. She remembered the Jedi telling her that she wouldn't be punished for asking questions, but she wasn't sure about whether or not she might be punished for any answer that she might give. She nodded her head hesitantly, hoping that the Jedi wanted the truth in the way that all of them seemed to prefer.

"Let's go then. You can read over that data pad in your room." Leia said as she led the way. Leia stopped outside the door to Talon's quarters when they got there.

"You go on in and get comfortable. I'll join you shortly. I just need to grab something warmer." Leia told her as she went to her own quarters to retrieve a thick outer robe.

Talon nodded her head and entered her room. She reset the controls so the room would be comfortable for her, and took a deep breath of relief as the frigid air washed across her face. She removed the optical filter that covered her eyes, and placed it on the workstation, before she dimmed the lights just a bit more.

The door opened with a hiss of pneumatics to reveal a darkened room, and a small girl sitting on the floor leaning against the foot of the bed while reading a data pad. A small cloud of white vapor became evident each time the girl exhaled, and Leia noticed that Talon had even taken off her optical filter. The Jedi Master stayed silent as she watched golden eyes that held a slight glow flicker back and forth as the girl studied the information on the data pad. Leia was about to sit down on the bed next to where the girl was sitting on the floor, when she suddenly wondered _why_ the girl was sitting on the floor.

"Talon, why aren't you sitting on the bed or in your chair?" Leia asked in a tone that was carefully neutral.

"Furniture is for the use of Masters, unless a student is given permission or directed to use it." Talon answered by rote without even looking up from the data pad that she was studying.

Leia thought back for a moment, and realized that the girl hadn't so much as taken a seat unless invited to do so in one way or another. It was just one more lesson in just how cruel, and callously Talon and the others had been treated by those in control of the Sith academy on Korriban.

"Talon, these quarters belong to you now. The furniture in here is for you to use whenever you want. I am not only giving you permission to use it, but I am _instructing_ you to use _any_ furniture in this academy whenever you want. You are not a slave here, Talon, and you're not going to be treated like one. From now on there is a rule that I want you to follow. That rule is; you are to sit in chairs, and sleep in bed. The only time I want to see you sitting on the floor, is when you _want_ to be on the floor. You won't ever get punished for using furniture. Well... unless you're jumping on it." Leia finished ruefully as she recalled some of the things her children had done when they were much younger.

"The Masters always said that they were the only ones entitled to use furniture because they had earned the rank and that privilege." Talon answered as she stood up to look at her Master in confusion.

"They were wrong for saying that Talon. The only reason they did things like that was so that they could feel better about themselves. My brother told you how Darth Vader hated himself for what he'd become after turning to the Darkside. Well, being cruel and vicious to others is the only way to make yourself feel better when you're immersed in the Darkside of the Force. There are very few people who truly enjoy being evil, and those that you will meet here aren't like that. There are times when students here are punished, but they aren't subjected to pain because they did something wrong. Instead, they are required to perform extra training, or they will have to take the place of the droids, and do some cleaning during their free time. But even then, they are sentient beings who deserve to be treated fairly, and that means that we don't cause them injury or pain." Leia explained carefully.

"Oh, I'll admit that sometimes accidents can happen. What happened to you yesterday morning is a good example. You saw the male student who had gotten his nose busted because someone else broke the rules. But, you also noticed that they weren't hurt or subjected to any kind of painful punishment for it." Leia continued.

Talon hung her head slightly as she chewed her bottom lip in thought. "Master Leia; is Master Katarn going to be punished because of yesterday?"

"Not exactly, Talon. Kyle did go back and review the security vids to see what he had done wrong, so that he won't ever make such a mistake again. So while he isn't being punished by another Master, he is punishing himself. He knows that you didn't deserve what happened, and he feels horrible for causing you to get hurt. He had no idea that your saber skills are as advanced as they are, and he was only trying to instruct you, and help you improve those skills." Leia explained calmly.

Talon's brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to make sense of the explanation. None of the ways that these Jedi acted were anything like what she had been taught. One thing that she could say with a certainty was that these Jedi kept telling her that she had nothing to be afraid of. It was as if they also tried to prove it by not letting her keep her fear, but then, they didn't let her keep her pain either, and that was something that really confused her. For as far back as she could remember, she had always been in pain from one punishment or another, but now, for the first time in her life, she wasn't hurting anywhere.

Talon knew that she had done several things that she deserved to be punished for, but instead of punishing her for those infractions, these Jedi had given her many things. Things she never would have had among the Sith. These Jedi had given her a name, clothing, more food than she'd ever seen any of the Masters receive, the privilege of keeping lightsabers, a room that was hers alone, the rank of Apprentice, and now they had even given her relief from pain. As far as she had been taught, this was _nothing_ like the way the Jedi were supposed to behave. Jedi and Sith were supposed to be eternal enemies. Talon didn't know how to come up with an answer to any of these oddities, and she wasn't really sure how to ask about them either.

Leia gestured for Talon to sit on the bed beside her. "Sit down Talon, and try to relax."

Leia watched as Talon sat down, and she pulled the girl into a one armed hug. "There are a lot of differences between the way we do things here, and the way they were done on Korriban. Here, we try to learn from our mistakes, so we won't repeat them. It isn't always an easy thing to do, and sometimes we don't get it right. The Jedi order isn't perfect Talon, but we do try our hardest to make sure that we do the right thing. It isn't always easy, and we do make mistakes, but trying to _learn_ from those mistakes is how we improve. Yesterday, Kyle made a mistake by underestimating your saber skills, and you got hurt as a result. So now, he's watched that recording repeatedly so he won't make that mistake with anyone else."

"A good example of the way we do things here would be the way you were eating when we first met, and the way I showed you how to eat. The way you were eating was… well I won't say _wrong_ exactly, but it certainly wasn't polite." Leia said with a suppressed shudder.

"The way you eat now is still a bit fast, but it doesn't make anyone else want to stop eating after watching you. You learned a more acceptable method by having it shown to you, and by someone telling you what you were doing wrong. That's how we intend to teach you Talon. Everyone learns at a different pace. I'll admit that it took my brother a while to grow accustomed to using proper table manners, but you seemed to pick that up rather quickly. Just give things a bit of time, and you should get used to the way things are done here. Tomorrow, you'll start a few classes; nothing major; just a few things to let us get a feel for what you already know, and what you still need to learn. One thing you'll need to know are the rules, and how to behave appropriately… all of that's on the data pad." Leia told her new apprentice tiredly.

Talon thought about what she'd been told for a while before turning her attention back to the data pad in her hands. The list of rules regarding student behavior wasn't actually that long, but she was being meticulously thorough in her study of them. She could see that there were a lot of rules made to prevent injuries and accidents. Those kinds of rules made little sense to her because there seemed to be no method by which the weak were sorted out.

Talon was still focused on the data pad when she felt the bed shift. She glanced back at her Master and saw that the Jedi was now laying down and was nearly asleep. She looked at her Master and her mind started racing when she realized that the Jedi actually _was_ asleep. Talon knew that Darth Magus and all of the other Sith Masters back on Korriban had always slept behind a locked door to prevent anyone from attempting to get revenge on them while they slept. Now this Jedi Master wasn't merely sleeping in an unlocked room… she was sleeping in Talon's own _bed_!

Talon knew that her Jedi Master didn't like what she considered to be very cold temperatures, so she went over to the environmental controls and put them back to the same setting that they'd been in when she'd entered.

'_That should let her stay warm.' _Talon thought as she glanced back at her Master sleeping on the bed.

After a lifetime of constantly being cold, Talon was not about to let her new Jedi Master endure the same thing when it could be prevented. This Jedi had done so much for her. She now had a name, lightsabers, a room, clothes to stay cool in the heat and warm in the cold… and she even had an actual rank now.

Although Talon didn't have the slightest idea what gratitude was, or even what the word meant, it didn't stop her from feeling that way. Not knowing how to explain what she felt even to herself, she actually _justified_ what she was about to do by deciding that she didn't want anything to happen to her new Master. Moving as silently as she could, Talon went over to the workstation, and donned her optical filter. She made sure that all four of her lightsabers were in place before exiting the room.

Talon studied the access terminal to her room without figuring out how to actually lock it. Finally, she simply gave up and entered her four digit code to see if that would work. Talon was in luck. The rather simple terminal was built so that it would either lock or unlock upon the entry of the specified code, or signal the occupant of the room. When she saw that the door was locked, Talon sat down next to it, and resumed her study of the data pad.

Within mere moments, she was sweating and feeling uncomfortably hot. Talon looked down at the thermal modulators on her belt and realized that she'd forgotten to adjust them before leaving her room. She quickly set the temperature down to one that was comfortable for her, leaned against the wall, and tried to focus on the contents of the data pad.

Talon was finding a little difficult to concentrate at the moment. The constant cacophony of thoughts and voices that impinged upon her mind was something that was very difficult to ignore. She also had a hard time understanding why Master Leia had fallen asleep like that when she wasn't protected in any way.

Talon had no idea how long she stayed there outside the door to her quarters while trying to focus on the data pad full of rules. She had looked up when a strange sound came from the ceiling overhead, but otherwise had been undisturbed for quite a while afterwards. In spite of the constant noise in her mind, she was sure that she could now remember a lot of the rules. She was wondering just how long her new Master was going to sleep, when her attention was caught by someone approaching.

Talon quickly recognized the young Nautolan who had returned her cloak after her fight against the remotes earlier.

"I've been hoping to find you! I didn't get a chance to greet you earlier, but I'm Pleena Fisto… what's your name?" The Nautolan exclaimed excitedly as she approached.

Talon could sense a strange emotion almost pouring from the green-skinned girl as she came closer. It was a warm and vibrant feeling that seemed to radiate some kind of warm glow from the mind of the girl. Although the emotion was the same as what she'd often sensed from Darth Magus when he was hitting someone with Force lightning, this was somehow different. Talon didn't know how to explain it, but what she sensed was something that felt completely unfamiliar, but at the same time, was strong enough to drown out all the other thoughts and emotions that she'd been sensing.

"I'm called Talon." She replied as she got to her feet.

"It's great to meet you Talon! Will you have lunch with me? _Please_, cause I'd really like to talk to you some more." Pleena said as she practically begged.

"What is lunch?" Talon asked in confusion.

Pleena gaped at the dark haired human girl in front of her in disbelief. "What do you mean, 'what is lunch'? You mean you don't know what lunch is?"

Solid black eyes bulged within a green-skinned face when Talon shook her head. Pleena couldn't believe it. She'd never met _anyone_ who didn't know what lunch was.

"Lunch is what you eat in the middle of the day so you can keep your strength up, and don't get hungry later. Where have you been living that you don't know what lunch is?" Pleena exclaimed in puzzlement.

"In the Sith Academy on Korriban." Talon answered plainly.

"That's where you got those red lightsabers that you were using to protect Kaldin… isn't it?" Pleena demanded in awed surprise.

Talon only nodded her head, because she wasn't sure what to say.

Pleena Fisto stared at the human girl who wasn't much taller than she was with her mouth agape. Suddenly everything came together in her mind. The red lightsabers, the incredible saber skills that she couldn't hope to match, the reference to the Sith Academy on Korriban, and the fact that she hadn't seen Talon before today. All of it added up to the fact that Talon must be a Sith!

"You were a student at the Sith Academy… weren't you? That's where you learned how to use those lightsabers like that, isn't it?" Pleena asked in shocked awe.

When Talon simply nodded her head, Pleena could only shake hers in disbelief. "Wow! This is so intense! I never met anyone who was a Sith before. I've heard a lot of really bad stuff about Sith Lords. That they're always hurting people, by choking them with the Force, and throwing Force lightning at them."

"You didn't do any of those kinds of things did you?" Pleena asked in a slightly fearful tone that was hopeful at the same time.

Talon shook her head in confusion. She knew the girl was a student of the Jedi, but there wasn't any of the animosity, or hatred that she'd been taught to expect from a Jedi. Instead, there was a curiosity that was hardly being contained. This was _not_ the kind of reaction that she'd been taught to believe the Jedi would have towards a Sith.

Pleena couldn't believe this. She'd managed to overhear a few of the stories regarding the Sith, as well as their abilities, and everything she'd heard had told her that the Sith practitioners were cruel and merciless. She was sure that Talon had to be different though. After all, she was here, wasn't she? Then there was the way she'd seen this girl protect Kaldin from the remotes. Those red lightsabers had seemed to be everywhere at once! Even though she hadn't been allowed to see very much of that fight against the remotes, she knew that Master Kirana Ti had stayed back to let Talon deal with them. That meant that Talon had to have some very good saber skills for that to happen. Added together, it all came down to the fact that Talon didn't act like a mean and heartless Sith.

Pleena reached out and grabbed Talon's hand while motioning with her head towards the other end of the corridor and the cafeteria. "Come on; let's go see what they have for lunch." She said while pulling the girl towards the cafeteria.

When they reached the dinning hall, Pleena pulled Talon over to a table that had a pair of empty seats next to each other. After they sat down, a serving droid brought a pair of trays to be placed before them. Both girls placed their napkins in their laps, and began to eat.

This was a different kind of stew from what she'd eaten earlier, but it had a rich flavor, that still wasn't as strong as she was used to. Talon didn't care how it tasted. It was food, she was allowed to eat it, and to her, that was all that mattered.

"So how long have you been practicing your saber skills?" Pleena asked in between bites of her nerf stew.

"As long as I can remember." Talon answered plainly while watching the others at the table and eating at the same time.

"And she _still_ isn't very good!" Exclaimed one of the older boys at the table.

"She is too! She saved Kaldin when the remotes went on the fritz this morning, and she did it by herself!" Pleena blurted defensively.

"Pure luck. I'll bet she doesn't even have a training saber yet." The boy shot back.

"She doesn't need a training saber, because she's got _real_ lightsabers!" Pleena argued hotly.

The boy looked over at Talon and sneered at her. "If you've got a real lightsaber, then let's see it!" He challenged with a smirk.

Talon took one of the single hilt lightsabers from her belt, and laid it facing down the length of the table before activating it.

The blade of pure energy that flashed into existence did so with a snap hiss that sounded almost angry as the red bladed weapon lay there humming on the table. Everyone but Pleena, and Talon were staring at the weapon in shock, and with more than a little fright. All of them knew that a red lightsaber was the weapon of a Sith, and that Sith were reputed to be dangerous, and deadly.

Ben had just entered the cafeteria to grab a quick bite to eat before meeting up with his uncle, when he saw everyone at one particular table staring at a red bladed lightsaber that was laying there. The feelings of apprehension, and fear from the table's occupants were beginning to mount as they realized the implications of that weapon, and he decided to step in before things got out of hand.

"Talon… you aren't trying to scare the other students with some of your stories from the Sith Academy are you?" Ben asked in a light tone.

Talon turned her head to see the Jedi standing not too far behind her. This was the same Jedi that she'd met, and who had also attacked her the night before. She knew that she hadn't said anything about what the Sith academy was like, so she shook her head by way of answer.

Ben nodded his head in silent approval. "Good. Don't. They don't need to learn about things like that yet. When they're older, they'll learn a lot more than they really want to know. So for right now, let's not say anything to give them nightmares… okay?" He said before turning his attention to the other students at the table without even waiting for an answer from Talon.

"As for the rest of you. Yes… Talon came straight from the Sith Academy on Korriban. That's where she was raised, and trained. One thing you need to know… Talon's saber skills are a _lot_ better than mine, and after her leg heals, she'll be showing your _instructors_ how to improve _their_ saber skills, so don't expect her to be in any saber training classes with you… unless she's the one _teaching_ it." Ben said factually.

"If she's that good, then how come she got injured during a training session yesterday?" The boy who'd instigated everything asked defiantly.

Ben looked at the brown haired boy who had a rather sullen expression on his face. "What's your name?"

"Selith Teelins."

"Well Selith, Kyle told me all about that last night. Talon got her leg broken, because she went at a _Jedi Master_ hard enough that he thought she was going to kill him with a _training saber_!" Ben said seriously. "Now before you think I'm joking, let me tell you that while there aren't very many Jedi here who have first hand knowledge of Talon's saber skills, I am one of those few that do. I know for a fact that she's a _lot_ better than I am, because even with her standing on a broken leg, she could have left me in pieces last night. I couldn't make her take a single step backwards, even when I was giving her everything I had, using every trick I know, and using every bit of skill I've got."

"Talon was just accepted into the Order this morning, and she's here to learn a different way of doing things. She saw a lot of hate and a lot of anger while she was on Korriban. She also saw some of her fellow students get killed by her Sith Masters. Talon can't help where she was trained, or who she learned from, but she's been apprenticed to my aunt now, and this Order is going to show her, and teach her the _right_ way of doing things." Ben finished as he looked each student in the eyes.

As he looked around, Ben could see that with one exception, all of the students at the table were beginning to eye Talon with wary apprehension. That one exception was the young Nautolan sitting next to Talon, who was looking at the girl with awe on her face.

'_Making them afraid of her isn't going to gain her any friends, and it sure won't do her any favors either. I'm going to have to correct that, and fast!'_ Ben thought as he looked around at the students.

"Look, I just want each of you to understand where Talon came from, that way you can show her the right way to do something if she gets it wrong. She's not like the Sith you might have heard about, because if she was, then she would have killed me last night. So take some time, and get to know her. Who knows… you might even end up liking her." Ben said with a smile before he turned to leave.

"Oh… and Talon? You might want to put that up." Ben said with a gesture towards the activated lightsaber that was still lying on the table. "It makes people nervous when you have it out like that."

Talon nodded her head as she took the lightsaber, deactivated it, and placed it back on her belt. She watched as the Jedi left before looking back at the food on her tray. She was truly surprised that it was still there, but she quickly put that aside in favor of eating what was in front of her. She was aware of the other students at the table giving her quick sidelong glances that were full of nervousness and apprehension, but she couldn't really blame them. After all, wasn't she watching the Jedi for many of the same reasons they were now watching her?

Nine year old Pleena Fisto sat next to the girl who was supposed to have been a Sith. Pleena didn't believe it. She _couldn't_ believe it, because she knew, just _knew_ that Talon wasn't like the Sith in any of the stories that she'd heard. She had been there in the class with her friend Kaldin when the remotes started acting up. Talon had gotten over there to help Kaldin when the Jedi Master couldn't! No one had told Talon to help Kaldin, but she had still done it.

'_That's what Knight Skywalker meant when he said that she can't help where she was trained! Just because she was trained by Sith, doesn't have to mean that she is a Sith, does it? Talon can't be a Sith! Sith are mean and she isn't. She isn't even like the ones in the history lessons. That's exactly what he meant! He meant that even though Talon was trained by the Sith; she still isn't like them at all!'_ Pleena realized with a smile.

"Weren't you scared by all those remotes?" Pleena asked in an attempt to break the strange silence at the table.

Talon just shook her head as she kept eating the stew.

"There was more than _twenty_ of those remotes trying to kill you and Kaldin… and you weren't scared _at all_?" Pleena asked in awed disbelief.

"No… there wasn't enough of them to get past my defenses." Talon answered simply.

Selith narrowed his hazel eyes at the girl who had just spoken so casually, and factually about holding off a lot of remotes. He was somewhat certain that the Nautolan was exaggerating the number some, but he didn't know by how much. On the other hand, there was the former Grand Master's son who'd just made it clear that Talon's saber skills were even better than his. He hadn't been there during the incident, so he couldn't say what had, or hadn't happened, but he knew of one way to find out exactly what _had_ occurred.

Selith glanced around the table and looked each of his friends in the eye. "Come on. Hurry up and finish eating. I want to get to the lounge and see the vid record for myself. That'll show _exactly_ what happened!"

"How is that possible?" A young Cathar girl asked doubtfully.

"That's simple, Teilaan. The Masters set it up that way so that we can review what we did right or wrong from different angels after the class is over. It's supposed to be a training aide, but in this case we can use it to see what happened in that class." Selith explained as he began shoveling his stew down.

Almost instantly six other students at the table were following suit, and as soon as she saw this, Talon began eating like she would have on Korriban.

Pleena stared for a few seconds as she watched the others devouring their stew as fast as they could. Finally, she decided that she wanted to join them in to lounge, so she picked up her bowl to begin drinking and gulping the stew down even faster than they were. Somehow, everyone at the table seemed to finish eating at the same time. Leaving the remains for the droids to clean up, Pleena followed the older students when they headed for the lounge. She almost had to pull Talon along with her, but as excited as she was, she didn't notice the other girl's hesitation at all.

Talon wasn't too sure what was going on, but the way the younger student was pulling her along by her hand ensured that she hurried to keep up. There were slight twinges of discomfort from her left leg. Although she wasn't aware of it, the twinges of discomfort were actually signs of what would have been agonizing pain, if not for the injections that she'd been given earlier. What captured Talon's attention was the holovid that Selith was already manipulating as he poured over the records from the previous day.

"Here it is!" Selith exclaimed suddenly. "Now we'll find out what the truth is."

The hologram focused on Talon as she squared off to face Master Katarn in a match. Suddenly, it was over and the holographic image of Talon was slumped against a wall. Selith frowned in irritation and he reversed the hologram, and slowed it down to a mere fraction of the speed in which it had actually taken place.

The holographic image showed Talon make four rapid strikes before being flung against the wall, by Master Katarn using the Force.

"Couldn't you at least slow it down enough that we can get to see what happens?" Teilaan demanded in a hissing whisper.

"That's… that's as slow as it will go." Selith replied in a whisper of disbelief.

The other students that were gathered stared at the boy in surprise. Then Selith's fingers were flying over the controls.

"Stang! The record from last night was deleted by a security code that needs at least one Master and a Knight to use it." Selith said irritably.

"Does it say why?" Pleena asked quickly.

"Privacy reasons." Came the sour reply.

"What about the one from this morning? Does it show what happened to Kaldin?" Pleena asked hopefully.

"I don't know, but we'll find out." Selith said determinedly.


	10. Chapter 10

"What training room was it in, and when did it happen?" Selith demanded as his fingers flew over the controls.

Pleena quickly supplied the details while Selith worked the controls to find the security recording.

As the recording began to play, Selith and the rest of the students saw the Jedi Master Kirana Ti addressing the students in front of her before programming and activating a practice remote for each of them. Even as Pleena was pointing out her friend Kaldin in the line of students, Selith was counting each of the remotes that were being passed out.

"Twenty six!" Selith exclaimed in a breathless near whisper of awe. "There's twenty six remotes in use."

All but one of the students crowded around the computer terminal gaped at him for a second or two before their attention refocused on the display. They watched in near silence until Kaldin's remote went berserk, and Pleena gasped in horrified dismay. It was fortunate that Selith had never taken his hands of the controls, or he might never have been able to act fast enough to slow the recording to a crawl. Unlike the first recording they'd witnessed, this one came from a training arena that was commonly used by more advanced students, and therefore had a _much_ better recording.

Using frame by frame advances, Selith and the others watched as the remotes malfunctioned, and the Jedi Master acted to immediately clear the room. The sight of a blurred form moving over the heads of the students made Selith's mouth hang open in disbelief.

"They've already shot Kaldin three times!" Pleena nearly shouted in dismay. "Master Cilghal _lied_ to me! She said he'd only been hit in the legs."

Selith glanced over at the now angry Nautolan girl for a split second before directing his gaze back to the recording, which was being advanced frame by frame. "She probably just didn't want you to worry too much. She said he'd be okay didn't she?"

Pleena nodded her head absently as she stared angrily at the display. "Yeah she did… and I got to talk to him too. He didn't even remember getting hit… but she still lied to me!" She finished sullenly.

"Well maybe she didn't know how many times he got hit. Who knows? The main thing is that he's going to be okay… right?" Selith replied.

Pleena nodded her head before she gaped in astonishment at the sight of Talon's tremendous leap over the other students.

Instantly, everyone's attention was completely focused on the recording. Even before landing, the holographic image of Talon had a lightsaber in each hand. Then, they were watching in stunned silence as Talon wielded two lightsabers in complete independence of the other while protecting the downed Kaldin. Even with the high speed recording and viewing still images, they could tell from the distorted blades, that each of Talon's moves were being made with blinding speed and precision.

When the recording was finally finished, all of the students turned to stare at Talon in awe. They had seen for themselves that nothing had been able to hit Kaldin once Talon had begun her defense.

"Wow! You're even better than I thought. I knew your saber skills were good enough to protect Kaldin, but I didn't know you were _that_ good." Pleena exclaimed in open admiration.

Unlike each of the others, Talon had watched the recording just as intently, but for an entirely different reason. She didn't hear the young Nautolan's excited praise, because she was too focused on the incident in question.

"I did it wrong."

"_What_?" Selith blurted out in disbelief. "What do you mean you did it wrong?"

"I should have used Ataru from the beginning. Instead of concentrating on protecting him, I should have started shutting them down as soon as I got to him." Talon said to herself as she stared at the frozen image of her striking the last of the remotes.

Talon started explaining the differences between Ataru and Soresu, along with the deferent principles inherent in each style. She used the recording to illustrate exactly why the two techniques varied in their effectiveness. The small group of students forgot all about the passage of time while listening to what Talon was telling them. It wasn't long before first Selith, and then others began asking questions about the two Forms that were demonstrated in the recording.

Although she didn't know the names of the emotions, Talon could sense that each of the students around her were curious, and eager to learn what she was showing them. The nice thing about the small group was that their emotions and thoughts had grown strong enough that they were drowning out the constant noise of the other minds on Corruscant.

Talon explained that while there was a drastic difference in the way the two styles were developed, they also had similarities. She was about to elaborate on how the two styles were similar when she was interrupted by a voice calling her name. Talon looked towards the doorway, where the voice was coming from, and saw the man she'd met earlier.

"Hey Talon, have you seen Leia?" Han asked quickly. "I've been looking for her, and she's not answering her communicator."

Talon nodded her head in answer.

"So do you know where she is?" Han continued.

"She's sleeping." Talon answered simply not wanting to reveal her Master's location.

"Really? Well where is she?" Han persisted in exasperation.

Talon swallowed hard, because she only knew of one reason for anyone to search out someone who was sleeping. Instantly, she bolted for the doorway and used the Force to enhance her speed as she ran through the halls to her room. She stood there in front of the door to her room breathing heavily as she tried desperately to think of a way to keep her Master from being disturbed.

Talon stood in front of the door to her quarters wondering what she should do. Master Leia was obviously very tired or she wouldn't have fallen asleep where she had. Talon recalled hearing the man named Han say that her Master had been up all night, and Talon figured that was the reason her Master was so tired. She was still wondering what to do, when Han came hurrying down the hallway with Master Katarn beside him.

"Where's Leia?" Han demanded angrily as he approached the girl standing by the door to her room looking like she was lost or something.

Talon swallowed hard as she tried to think of what to do. Nothing she'd ever been taught either by the Sith, or by the Jedi had covered a situation like this. One thing she did know, was that she wasn't going to allow her Master to be disturbed in any way. She glanced at the control panel by the door to make sure that it was still locked, and was slightly relieved to see that it was.

Han wasn't stupid. He knew from the single look that the girl had given to her door that Leia had to be inside the room. He gave a quick study of the girl who was standing in front of the door to her room like she had no intention of letting anyone in and knew that she was scared of something.

"Talon… can you tell us where Master Solo is?" Kyle asked in a calm quiet voice as he noticed Han's mounting irritation.

Talon's expression betrayed her fear, but Han paid no attention to that because he was concerned about his wife. Knowing that Talon had been trained as a Sith really wasn't helping to ease his mind either.

"Talon…" Han began with clenched teeth. "Where is my wife?" He demanded sternly.

"Master Leia fell asleep… She's sleeping." Talon answered hesitantly.

Suddenly Talon snatched one of her single hilt lightsabers from her belt and activated it, because she sensed the strong determination from Han as he stepped forward. She dropped into a Soresu stance with the glowing red blade held straight up on her right side as she tried to prepare for almost anything.

Han quickly brought himself to an abrupt halt when he saw that red bladed lightsaber in the girl's hands. He stared in dumbfounded disbelief at the girl who obviously _wasn't_ going to allow him access to his wife. Concern instantly changed to alarm as Kyle pulled his own lightsaber from his belt, but didn't ignite it. Stepping back, Han began sending an urgent page to his wife's com unit. He was hoping that she would answer, but at the same time, he was dreading that she wouldn't.

"Talon… I need you to put away the saber, and take us to Master Solo." Kyle said in a calm voice but with a firm tone.

Talon shook her head apprehensively as her stomach twisted into a solid knot of fear. Never had she directly disobeyed a Master before, and _never_ had she committed such blatant defiance! She wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she did _not_ expect what actually did occur.

As soon as the door slid aside, Leia saw her apprentice squared off against her husband and her friend Kyle. All traces of fatigue instantly fled her mind as she realized the situation. She could sense both determination and a very strong amount of fear emanating from the girl. She knew that whatever was going on needed to be stopped immediately before someone got hurt or killed.

"Talon… what's going on here?" Leia asked as calmly as she could manage.

Leia both saw and sensed instant relief from Han and Kyle once they saw her. The only thing that needed to be determined was why this confrontation was even happening.

As soon as she heard the voice behind her, Talon whipped around to face the threat behind her. The blade of her lightsaber was already in the process of lashing out at whoever was behind her when she recognized her Master. With only centimeters to spare she shut down her lightsaber with a stricken look on her face.

"M… Master Leia." Talon stammered. "Th… they wanted… wanted to know where you were. I told Master Han that you were asleep. He… he wanted to know where you were anyway."

As soon as Talon gave her answer, Leia knew what had to have gone through the girl's mind. She knew that it was merely one more difference between the way the Sith did things and the ways of the Jedi. It was not a pleasant reminder.

"Thank you Talon, you did very well today and I'm proud of you. Now, why don't you go into your room and relax for a while?" Leia suggested casually, before turning to face Han and Kyle.

Talon's mouth dropped open as she stared at her Master in stunned surprise. Never once on Korriban had she ever received any praise for anything she'd done. But here… now… she was being praised by her new Jedi Master.

'_Master Leia is proud of me! I did something she approves of!'_ Talon thought in astonished disbelief.

Leia suspected that such simple praise would have some effect on Talon, but those few simple words meant _far_ more to Talon than a simple statement of doing something right. During her life on Korriban, Talon had never once received any kind of praise or approval for anything. Not even her truly impressive saber skills had earned so much as a nod of acknowledgement. Now, was a far different story; now she had just been told that she had done something to make her Master proud of her. At that moment, Talon knew that she was going to listen carefully to everything Master Leia said, and learn all that she could.

Talon quickly nodded her head, and went into her room, where she immediately lowered the temperature back to what she felt was a comfortable setting. She sat down at the small workstation and began to study the data pad once more.

"You want to tell me what's going on Princess?" Han demanded sourly.

"I'd like to hear the answer to that as well." Kyle stated in a much calmer tone.

"You act like she hasn't done anything wrong." Han added in an angry tone.

"That's because she hasn't. She was actually trying to protect me." Leia explained calmly as she looked at each of the two men.

"What? What the hell do you mean she was trying to protect you?" Han demanded in confusion.

"Look… both of you need to understand something here. Talon was not raised in a normal family environment…. she was raised on Korriban… by _Sith_! I can't be certain without asking her, but after seeing some of her memories, and reading that… that _journal_… my bet is the only reason that one Sith would try to find another while they were asleep is for the purpose of assassination." Leia snapped quickly.

"She thought we wanted to kill you… _that's_ why she pulled her lightsaber, and wouldn't let us pass! Isn't it?" Kyle insisted with dawning realization.

"Yes… it is."

"What the hell kind of messed up life has she had?" Han demanded in disbelief.

Leia was silent for a moment as she actually considered the question and the answer before she replied. "One where slaves are treated a lot better than she was." She finally stated in a dull monotone.

Han shook his head slowly as he stared at his wife stupidly. During his time as a smuggler, he'd seen the various ways that slaves were often treated, some, by owners who were far more than simply cruel. Other slaves had gotten lucky, if one could call it that, and ended up in the ownership of a being that actually treated them with an amount of compassion. The problem was that he was certain that his wife _wasn't_ referring to the lucky ones.

"Look, I've been from one end of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of things…" Han began in protest.

"That's true, but before I found her, the _only_ times that Talon has seen someone smile or heard them laugh was when they were about to put her, or someone else, in enough pain to make them wish for death. Even though her life has been worse than trying to walk through the Maw, she still hasn't become… become…" Here Leia faltered and her voice trailed off as she squeezed her eyes shut, because she just couldn't bring herself to finish what she'd been about to say.

"I know this won't be anything close to easy, but Leia can make a positive change in Talon's life. _Both_ of you can! Talon isn't evil, although she has that potential, just about everyone does given the right circumstances, but I know that there is one serious difference in Talon's life now. She's now a member of the Jedi Order. She'll have a lot of adjustments to make as she learns how things are done here, but then we'll have to make some accommodations as well. Talon's presence here can offer a lot of benefits to the Order…" Kyle said softly when he was interrupted.

"Benefits? Like what?" Han asked in confusion.

"Like how to properly counsel someone who has become immersed in the Dark Side. What it takes to alleviate the constant state of fear that Talon's in. How to make others less afraid of us. Then there are those _incredible_ saber skills of hers. I saw her practicing last night, and honestly… if it came down to pure saber skill, there isn't anyone in this Order who could survive more than a few seconds against her, and truthfully… the only one who could last _that_ long is Luke." Kyle explained easily.

Han couldn't help it as he switched his gaze back and forth between Kyle and his wife suspiciously. He would have sworn that his wife would say that Kyle was either joking or exaggerating, but then he saw that she was in full though silent agreement.

"Are you seriously telling me she's that good?" Had demanded skeptically.

"Yes, she is Han, and Luke plans to take lessons from her. Not only that, but, if she's willing, _all_ of the Masters will be taking some lessons from her." Leia answered.

Han blew out a silent whistle as his whirling mind tried to grasp what he'd just been told. He knew from what he'd seen earlier that the kid was good, and he'd even heard Luke's son say that he wanted some lessons from her, but he still hadn't understood that she was _that_ good.

"I see you're finally beginning to understand." Leia proclaimed with a light smile. "She's just a scared child, Han. She's not out to conquer the galaxy, or kill anyone. The only things Talon seems to want right now are very _simple_ things. An environment that's comfortable to her, _far_ too cold to suit me, but she needs it. Food to eat when she's hungry, and to be able to live without someone putting her in a lot of fear or pain. Those are very simple things Han. In return for a bit of simple compassion, Talon was willing to face off against someone that she's been taught to be terrified of throughout her entire life. Add in the fact that Kyle broke her leg yesterday morning, and Talon has even more reason to be afraid of him. Did that keep her from trying to stop the two of you when she was concerned that you might try to kill me while I was asleep? No it didn't! Talon was ready and _willing_ to sacrifice her life to preserve mine. It didn't make any difference that she's known me for less than two days, she was still ready to die for me!"

Leia's expression softened a little as she looked both Han and Kyle in the eyes. "What ever shortcomings Talon may have, they can be dealt with as she learns. In the meantime… I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Greetings Good Readers! Yes… I know; I am often VERY slow on updates! I can NOT offer any excuses, however… I will say that quality DOES take time, and my 'Plot Demons' (Muses) sometimes have a tendency to walk away when I least want them too. I will PROMISE to you though, that I will NOT quit, give up, or otherwise abandon ANY of the stories that I have started posting. Now, Drakonian… (Guest) all I can say to you is that you need to re-read chapter 5, and examine Master Kataarn's visions of Talon's future. That is the ONLY clue I will give at this time. By the way Readers, reviews ARE inspiration…**_

_**Now… without further ado…**_

_It was dark and cold, with every breath coming in a ragged gasp; yet still the pair of weapons whirled through the air. Every move of the weapons were accompanied by a deep toned whistle as they cut through the air. Arms that were stained with greenish blue and black gore all the way to the elbows controlled those two weapons with speed, precision, and the unstoppable power of the Force._

_With a bellow of infinite rage, the creature charged forward in a blind rush. Instantly both weapons went into motion. Whirling them around in a counter clockwise pattern, with body spinning in that direction herself to add extra power to her strikes. _

_With one staff at waist level, and the other above the head, both of the weapons were moving with blinding speed. As soon as the creature entered striking range, it was hit with every gram of strength and power that was left._

_The high staff slammed into the creature's shoulder, crushing its way inward almost to the center of its chest. The second staff hit the foul beast in the arm, forcibly amputating it by the simple fact that the staff continued inward until it was slicing into the abdominal section of the beast by sheer power._

_Towering above at nearly three and a half meters tall, the Terentatek appeared to be exactly what it was… a creature that was straight out of nightmares._

Grand Master of the Jedi Order Kenth Hamner bolted upright sweating and gasping for breath. He could feel his heart racing and pounding in his chest, even as his lungs heaved for air.

'_A nightmare… it was only a nightmare.'_ He thought in blessed relief as he slowly regained his self control. His breathing had almost returned to normal when he sensed… _something_. He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he left his quarters to see if he could gain a better sense of it.

As soon as he entered the corridor, Kenth knew that something was seriously wrong. _Every_ Jedi; Knights and Masters alike were moving about, and all of them looked as shaken as he felt. That was when he heard it. The panicked cries of every youngling in the Temple. Some of the younger ones were speechless in terror, but all of them were frightened and most were crying.

Kenth moved through the halls and corridors swiftly. Everywhere he went, he could see older, more experienced Jedi trying to sooth the terrified younglings. Whenever he could spot one of the Jedi who had a second to spare, he asked what was going on. The reply was always a variation of the same thing. Everyone had experienced the same nightmare that he'd had. He entered one corridor just in time to witness Leia and her husband leave their own quarters. Han looked disheveled, haggard, and more than a little frightened. Leia on the other hand, was clearly shaken, but appeared to be more determined than anything else. He watched as the newest Master shook her head to clear her thoughts and quickly stepped across the hall. Kenth hurried over to her and asked about what she intended to do, since every youngling in the Temple was crying in fear.

"I'm going to put a stop to this." Leia snapped as she unlocked the door to Talon's quarters.

Kenth arrived at the doorway just after Leia entered and was met by a near freezing blast of cold air that rushed from inside the room. He was rather surprised to see that the girl he'd met that morning was actually still asleep in spite of the severe cold and the disturbance that was spreading through the Force.

"Talon…" Leia called out as she entered the room. She noted that this time, Talon was actually sleeping _in_ the bed, instead of beside it as she had the night before, and as much as she was glad to see that, waking the girl was more important at the moment. She sensed more than saw both Grand Master Hamner, and her husband Han at the door, but she chose to ignore them while she concentrated on what she knew was the source of the disturbance in the Force. Leia called the girl's name again as she reached out to lightly touch the child's uninjured leg.

Talon bolted upright in the bed and stared at Leia's hand with a frightened, almost stricken expression. She glanced from the hand that was reaching towards her to see that it belonged to her new Jedi Master. She swallowed the lump of fear that had instantly wedged itself in her throat and tried to ask what her Master wanted, but no words would come out.

Leia pulled her hand back, and stepped around to the side of the bed. She saw that Talon was wearing the thin robes that had been made for her on The Alderaan, so she was decently covered from the eyes of the two men still standing in the open doorway. She had to ignore the piercing cold for the moment, because she knew that she'd be able to warm up again once she was back out in the hall. Right now, she needed to focus all of her attention on Talon, and that was exactly what she did.

"Talon, I need you awake for a bit, okay?" Leia asked gently. When the girl nodded her head, she continued.

"I need your permission to enter your mind for a few moments. I promise that I won't hurt you, but there's something that I need to do and quickly." Leia explained softly.

Talon closed her eyes and nodded her head, even though she really didn't want to, because she knew what had always happened whenever a Master had entered her mind.

Jedi Master Leia Organa Solo closed her eyes, and stretched out with the Force. Entering Talon's mind was far too easy for her to be pleased with the situation, and she resolved to find out if there was anything that could be done to remedy that. Still, she found herself inside Talon's mind with ease, even though she was completely unable to achieve the same result with her own husband. As soon as she knew that she was actually within the girl's mind, she projected the image she wanted, so that she wouldn't be forced to see what she knew that Talon expected.

Once again, Talon found herself seated on a dais in a room she had only seen projected from the mind of her new Master. The soft music of tinkling splashes that originated from a thousand different waterfalls and fountains wafted through the air. Plants and flowers that she'd never seen in person were scattered among the fountains and falls, while that bright warm golden-white glow seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Upon realizing that she was fully clad in the clothing that her Master had obtained for her, she looked over to see Master Leia approaching her with a warm but light smile on her face.

Talon could feel the various emotions that flowed through the mind of her Master, but only one of them was familiar to her. That one single emotion was what her Master had called friendship. She couldn't help the fear that always rose within her mind at the presence of a Master, because she had no idea what Master Leia wanted from her.

Leia smiled at the mental image of Talon, and got up to walk over to her. She kept a light smile on her face, and made certain that she was projecting an aura of calming friendship as she approached. She knew that Talon unable to stop the broadcasting that she was created in the Force, and Leia intended to put that particular ability to work for her. She knelt down in front of Talon and increased the feelings of calm and safe security.

"_Talon, I know you were dreaming about your escape from Korriban, but I want you to know, that you are safe here. No one is going to hurt you, and no one is going to punish you for anything you might have done so far, because you haven't done anything wrong. The reason I am in your mind right now, is because while you were dreaming, everyone else in the Temple experienced the same dream that you had. That dream frightened everyone a _lot_! I know that you can't help sending out what you feel through the Force. That is why I am visiting with you in your mind, so you will send out the state of calm that I am giving you. Do you understand?"_ The mental image of Leia asked gently while giving the girl a light hug.

Talon nodded her head, even though she wasn't sure exactly what it was that her Master wanted from her, or expected her to do, but she would certainly try.

Before Talon had the chance to think about anything else, the feeling of being safe, secure, and surrounded by that feeling that Master Leia had called 'friendship' filled her mind while a sense of calm that erased many of her fears came with it. There were several other feelings there as well, but she had no idea what they were called. What she _did_ know, was that a strong sense of something pervaded throughout her mind, and Talon didn't ever want it to stop being there. It was the single most incredible feeling she'd ever encountered, and was something that she had only experienced while encompassed by the limitless power of the Force. That was when her Master began to withdraw from her mind.

Leia withdrew from Talon's mind while still emanating a soothing sense of calm, peace, and safety. She could tell at once that what she'd attempted had worked. The feelings that she'd sent through Talon's mind had been broadcast through the Force to begin calming everyone within the Temple.

"Thank you Talon. Now, I want you to go back to sleep, and get some rest. Don't concern yourself with the wake up chime, I'll come and get you for breakfast, okay?" Leia said gently as she left the room.

Talon nodded her head and lay back down. She still wasn't exactly sure why her Master had wakened her, but she hadn't been hurt at all. This was the third time that her Jedi Master had been inside her mind, and yet not once had she experienced _any_ of the pain that Darth Magus and the other Sith Masters had always caused when they had entered her mind. What was really confusing to her was that not only had her Jedi Master not caused her pain, but Master Leia had also not done anything to make her be afraid. There were even the times that these Jedi had taken her fear away from her. It was as if they didn't _want_ her to be afraid, even though her Sith Masters had always kept her and the other Fighters afraid at almost everything at all times.

Leia left Talon's quarters, and stopped outside the door. It hadn't been difficult at all to guess the code Talon used because the girl had asked if she could use the weight of her staves. That meant she had used either the combined weight or the weight of only one of those massively heavy weapons. That meant that there were only two numbers to be tried, and Leia's first guess had been correct.

The unspoken question of what was happening was all over Kenth's face as he looked at her, and Leia knew that the Grand Master deserved an answer.

"I'm sorry. I expected this to happen last night, but not with _this_ level of consequences." Leia said quickly.

"What do you mean… 'you expected this to happen last night'; why is that?" Kenth asked suspiciously.

"Talon was having a nightmare."

"A _nightmare_? _That's_ what caused all this panic?" Kenth demanded.

"Yes. A nightmare. One where Talon was reliving part of her escape from Korriban." Leia replied bluntly.

"_Reliving_?" Kenth whispered in stark disbelief.

"Yes, reliving. We can count ourselves fortunate that she didn't broadcast the _beginning_ of the ordeal where she personally witnessed _many_ of her fellow students and several of her Sith Masters getting slaughtered and eaten by those creatures. Had that happened, I don't know of anyone who would be able to calm everyone down except possibly my brother and he isn't here." Leia explained patiently.

Kenth Hamner gaped at the Jedi Master as various expressions of horror, shock, and disbelief vied for control of his features.

"Are you honestly telling me that her… that… that _girl_ in there went through something _worse_ than what I saw in that _terrifying_ nightmare" Kenth exploded.

"Yes Kenth. She did. She had to face, fight, and _kill_ those Terentatek for _many_ hours while trying to make her way to the surface so she could escape that planet. In the process, she ate enough Keldor rations that she needed her stomach pumped free of the toxins after she was brought on board The Alderaan." Leia explained calmly.

"Now come on Princess, we didn't even have _that_ much of a fight when we got caught by the Death Star and escaped after rescuing you and we were outnumbered by more than _ten-thousand_ to one!" Han protested.

"I know." Leia said with a heavy sigh. "I know Han, but that's what she went through to come here."

"This just keeps getting better!" Han muttered sourly.

Talon woke up from a sound sleep. It was the first time she had actually slept in the bed in her quarters, and she found that she had to turn the temperature down just a bit so that she was comfortable beneath the blankets. It was the way that Master Leia had told her to sleep, and she wasn't going to disobey her master on something like that. Besides, it was much better than trying to sleep alone on the floor. Without the other Fighters to huddle up to and share body heat with, she felt utterly alone, and that made her very uneasy.

Talon looked around the darkened room trying to figure out why she had woken up. The morning chime was not sounding off, so that was not the cause of her sudden wakefulness. That was when she saw it.

The strangely transparent apparition slowly began to take shape in front of her, and Talon felt her blood run cold with sheer fright. She knew from the various holovids what, and more importantly _who_ she was looking at, but she never would have dreamed of seeing The Dark Lord of the Sith in front of her, because she knew that Lord Vader was dead!

The Force ghost of Darth Vader looked at the girl lying in bed and staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. The mechanical sound of his breath was loud in the otherwise silent room. He casually looked over at the workstation where the girl had placed her lightsabers, and he summoned one of the single hilt versions to his hand.

"You will now show me your saber skills young apprentice." He stated in a deep menacing tone.

Talon was terrified. She quickly scrambled out of the bed and used the Force to call the other single hilt lightsaber to her hands. She immediately ignited the blade which flashed into existence with a snap-hiss and hummed angrily as she faced the Sith Lord while trembling in absolute fear.

Darth Vader began to circle the girl as he ignited the lightsaber in his hands. Once the girl had her back to the door, he attacked with a powerful downward sweep of the weapon. That attack was instantly blocked, and he knew that the power behind that block originated from nothing less than the Force.

Beneath the mask of Darth Vader, the spirit of Anakin Skywalker smiled. One attack after another was quickly blocked or deflected, but the girl had yet to counter attack him in anyway. Such actions told him most of what he wanted to know about her, and he continued to press the attack; driving the girl through the temple of the Jedi; herding her where he wanted. He had seen her squeeze her eyes shut in an effort to block out the lighting, and her thin robes were quickly becoming soaked from the sweat that began pouring from her after leaving her quarters. In spite of her phenomenal skill with a lightsaber, the Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker _knew_ that he held every advantage in this battle.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's Notes: Drakonian… DUDE! Either log in, or create a profile! Responding to your reviews like this is a pain in the #%# &*# ! (Cal that fifteen lines of profanity and leave it at that! I don't think FFN would allow that much cussing on this site, besides, everyone else would rather read the chapter instead of a five thousand word rant.) Also, quality takes some time, Rome wasn't built in a single day, and I flat refuse to post something that SUCKS! At any rate, Plot Demons have returned from their vacation, and I am taking full advantage of it! Enjoy!**_

Ben Skywalker sat alone in the lounge with a cup of caf that had long ago gotten cold. The dream that he'd experienced earlier had been more frightening than almost anything he'd ever dealt with in person. Learning that it was something that Talon had actually _lived_ through somehow made it even more horrific. Suddenly Ben remembered what Kyle had mentioned the night before. '_Stang! _That_… nightmare was part of the best day of her life?_' The young Jedi Knight shuddered at the thought that the rest of Talon's life had to have been even worse.

Ben was pulled from his musings by the sound of clashing lightsabers that was getting closer. Then he was gaping in astonishment as Talon backed her way past the doorway while what was apparently his grandfather's Force ghost kept driving her further back.

His caf completely forgotten, Ben slid from the table and darted to the doorway to watch what was going on. He was in such a stupor of disbelief and shock that Ben couldn't even _think_ of telling or asking his grandfather to stop. All he could do was follow after them while staring stupidly at the incredible saber skills in use. He watched in concerned silence as Vader drove Talon backwards through the Temple and into one of the training rooms.

It wasn't until a couple of moments after they had gotten into the room that Ben noticed how Talon was not only squinting against the lighting, but sweating heavily. He knew that he was no match for the Force ghost of his grandfather, and after seeing the saber skills that were in use, he quickly realized that he would only be in the way and likely get either himself or Talon killed if he tried to intervene. There was one thing he _could_ do to help though, and he did. Stepping over to the environmental controls he quickly lowered the light level down to what he had thought it was last night. Then he lowered the temperature as well. He had no idea what his grandfather wanted with Talon, but he didn't know of _anyone_ who could defeat a Force ghost, and that included his dad.

Beneath the mask of Darth Vader, the spirit of Anakin Skywalker smiled. Not one of his powerful attacks had even come close to getting through the girl's defense. Although they had been fighting for several long minutes, she had yet to even _try_ any type of counter attack. He had to admit, her saber skills were much better than any he'd ever seen. He brought the lightsaber he'd retrieved from her workstation straight down in a strong overhead sweep, but didn't pull back when it was blocked. He kept the saber there locking the two opponents in an angry clash of energy as the blades continued to make contact.

"Why are you here, young apprentice?" He demanded in a firm voice.

Talon was terrified. She wasn't exactly sure why Lord Vader was angry at her, or why he had come to attack her. The only thing she could think of is that he was here because she was following the instructions of her Jedi Master. The lowered lights and temperature helped, because she could now _see_ where the strikes were as well as feel them through the Force. It wasn't until she heard that question from Lord Vader that she began to understand that he would probably kill her for her failure. That was when Talon decided that she wasn't going to let Master Leia be angry with her actions, and she decided to answer the way these Jedi wanted.

"Be… because Master Leia wants me to be a Jedi. So that's what I'm going to learn." She almost wailed in fear.

Suddenly, Vader moved back and deactivated the lightsaber in his hands. "But is that what _you_ want?" Anakin demanded angrily.

Talon closed her eyes and waited for the rage of Lord Vader as she gave her answer. "Y… yes."

"Then you must listen to my daughter, and heed her lessons well. _She_ is your Master now, and she can teach you what being a Jedi truly means. It is _not_ an easy path, but it _is_ a rewarding one. Obey her wishes and you will indeed become a Jedi, but if you do not… if you betray her… you will know _my_ wrath!" Anakin said in a menacing rumble before he tossed the lightsaber to the girl and vanished.

Ben let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. He was in a complete daze as he left Talon in the training room and returned to his seat in the lounge. Apparently his grandfather _wanted_ Talon to learn the ways of the Jedi, to fully embrace the tenants and teachings of the order, and to become one of their number. It was something that baffled him. What he couldn't understand was why had his grandfather appeared as _Vader_? If he wanted Talon to listen to his aunt as Talon had been told, then why hadn't he appeared as _Anakin_?

Ben sat there after downing the remains of his now cold caf and pondered what he had seen for nearly an hour. That was when he suddenly realized _why_ his grandfather had shown up as Darth Vader. Talon had been taught to look up to the Sith Lord, to idolize him, and to revere him as a great leader! By showing up as Darth Vader, his grandfather had taken advantage of Talon's past. It was entirely possible that she wouldn't recognize Anakin at all, but Darth Vader was someone whose reputation was known, whose advice and instructions would be followed without question. _That_ was why his grandfather had shown himself that way!

The question of _why_ Anakin had bothered to appear and show himself at all was a different matter. Ben figured that it probably had to do with those saber skills that he'd seen in use by the both of them. He'd known that Talon was good, but _that_ was something that he would not have imagined possible! He knew of several masters, his father included, who were good with a lightsaber, but prior to what he'd personally witnessed, he would have sworn that _no one_ was _that_ good! The thing that really made him wonder though was that not once had he seen Talon on the offensive. There was a strange feeling that made him sure that his grandfather's Force ghost hadn't been holding back either. She hadn't initiated so much as a single attack his grandfather… and now that he really thought about it, he also realized that she had only defended herself against _his_ attacks without launching even one against him.

'_Her defense is impenetrable, but she'll need to learn how to go on the offensive when it's called for. Not everyone she faces will be willing to back down like my grandfather or I. That's going to have to change. I'd better talk to my aunt to make sure she knows the score on that one. Somehow I think that Talon's presence here is about to become vital, because there are no coincidences when it comes to the Force._' Ben thought seriously.

That was when Ben was pulled from his introspective thoughts by a blue haze gathering around a chair on the opposite side of the table he was sitting at. He watched with narrowed and suspicious eyes as his grandfather's Force ghost appeared while sitting in a chair across from him. He looked at the apparition for a moment, and noticed immediately that it was Anakin Skywalker and _not_ Darth Vader who was sitting there. He also noticed the worried and concerned expression on the face as well as the serious expression in the body language.

"Ben, I need you to listen to me. I can't tell you what's going to happen, but what I _can_ say is that Talon is going to be needed by the Order, sooner than you might think. Because of the past that she and I share, there will be many who refuse to ever trust her. There will be some who will be wary of her at first, but might eventually give her a grudging amount of trust. She _needs_ friends! That girl needs to know that she isn't alone. I know that Leia will do everything she can, but she's only one person. I know some of what Talon has been through, and I also know what _you_ have been through, but believe me when I say that everything in your life has been _pleasant_ compared to hers!" Anakin began seriously.

"So what exactly is it that you need me to do?" Ben asked quickly knowing that he was likely interrupting whatever else his grandfather was going to say.

Anakin actually smiled and gave a half hearted sardonic chuckle, but it was fraught with the concern that was etched heavily on his face.

"I need you to trust her Ben. I need you to become one of the few friends that she will actually have around her. Do what you can to make sure she doesn't fall to the Darkside. Fear is incredibly strong in her. That fear… even _terror_ is much, _much_ stronger than my hatred or anger _ever_ was! Do not allow those fears of hers to develop into anger. She will need reasons to want to stay with the Order. Between you and my daughter, I am certain that Talon will be given those reasons. She's had no say in how she was raised… in fact; she's had no say in _anything_! Make her start to choose for herself; have her start to make decisions, even if they are minor or inconsequential ones. Show her that she now has some control over her life. Make her see that her life is more valuable than a lifeless chunk of rock. She was trained to be and raised to be nothing more than blaster fodder; to die against whatever enemy she was ordered to attack; to be a suicide fighter, because her life is _worthless_!" Anakin finished in disgust.

"Her life _isn't_ worthless!" Ben retorted angrily. "That may be what her Sith Masters wanted her to believe, and maybe even what _they_ believed, but it's not what _I_ believe!" He continued in a near growl of outrage.

"Maybe you weren't paying attention grandfather, but _I_ did! Talon never once tried to strike back at you, and you were _not_ holding back. If Talon was actually what this Darth Magus had tried to make her into, then she wouldn't have hesitated to carve you into a _lot_ of little pieces if you were still alive! From what I've learned, she's just a kid who hasn't been taught properly." Ben began in a near shout of anger.

"Exactly!" Anakin agreed readily. "So now, you must help show her the right way to live. Show her that she has a _choice_ in her life; show her that she doesn't have to be afraid of everyone she meets, because not everyone will want her dead. She her that she… that her _life_ actually has some value, because a lot will come to depend on her choices. Make _sure_ that she wants to make the right choice when the time comes." Anakin finished heavily.

Ben nodded seriously as he looked at his grandfather. He could see the worry, concern, frustration, and yet strangely enough, he could also see hope in his grandfather's expression. He knew then, that there was a lot that his grandfather wasn't telling him, but he hadn't spent a few years in the Galactic Alliance Guard sitting on his thumbs. He had learned a lot, and everything he had learned was telling him that his grandfather would _not_ have appeared like he had if this wasn't extremely important.

"I'll do what I can, and I'll make sure she makes the right decisions. You can count on that. I don't give up easily." Ben said in a tone of resolve.

For the first time, Anakin smiled without the signs of worry. "I know Ben… I know, and I want you to know, that I'm proud to have you as my grandson."

With those final words, his grandfather's Force ghost vanished leaving him alone in the lounge. Ben leaned back in the chair before leaning forward to summon a droid for a cup of caf, he apparently had a lot of thinking to do, and he was going to need to be alert to do it.

Master Cilghal sat in the cafeteria with a much needed cup of caf. Getting the younglings back to sleep after that horrible nightmare had not been easy. Almost every one of them had required a light sedation because though they had been somewhat calmed while they were awake, none of them had wanted to face that nightmare again, and all of them had feared that it would return. It had made for a very long night, and then once the younglings had been put back to bed, she, along with the rest of the Knights and Masters had learned the cause of that atrocity. Even as tired as she was, Cilghal still looked up when she noticed someone coming into the cafeteria. Knight Skywalker looked as tired as she felt, but there seemed to be a grim air about the young Knight.

"Morning. Mind if I join you?" Ben asked as pleasantly.

"Be my guest. Just don't expect many others to show up for breakfast after that mess last night." Cilghal answered bluntly.

"That was something else wasn't it?" Ben asked rhetorically with a slight shake of his head as he sat down at the table next to the Healer. "It kind of makes you wonder though. If that was part of the best day of her life… what kind of nightmares has Talon had to live through?"

"_That_ is something I do _not_ want to know! What I saw before waking was bad enough." Cilghal muttered sourly.

"Oh, I agree with you, but there's still a part of me that can't help but wonder." Ben said as he placed an order for some caf and a few light pastries, before noticing the sound of the breakfast chime.

"_You_ can wonder all you want… but if you _ever_ find out, do not tell me because I do _not_ want to know."

Ben snorted in amusement, although he actually and honestly agreed with the Healer. There were some questions that were better left unanswered, and he was sure that the whole of Talon's past, was one of them. When his breakfast arrived, he sat and munched on the sweet rolls while sipping at his caf and enjoying the companionable silence.

Cilghal looked up as someone else entered the cafeteria, and she had almost ignored it until she noticed that not only was it the cause of last nights problem, but also that Talon was limping slightly. It was clear that the girl was in severe pain but also that she was trying to hide it.

"Relax Cilghal. It's not her fault. I'll explain everything later… in private." Ben muttered under his breath so that only the Healer could hear.

"Hey Talon! Come have a seat and join us." Ben called out with much more cheerfulness than he actually felt. The Jedi Knight watched as Talon took a seat and thought about what she wanted to eat for breakfast.

Talon sat down at the table, and frowned slightly. She knew from what Master Leia had told her that she could order what she wanted to eat. She still didn't know all of the different kinds of food that the Jedi had so she decided to eat what her Master had sent one of the other Masters to get for her the first day that she was here. She placed her order for four slices of nerf loaf with lots of gravy, four pieces of Haroun bread, a glass of Bantha milk, and a cup of Broulahn tea.

"I guess you would be pretty hungry after your fight with Darth Vader last night." Ben said casually. "I saw part of that you know." He added as he saw Cilghal stiffen beside him.

"I thought he was angry at me because I'm trying to become a Jedi… but he… he told me that he wants me to be a Jedi, and to obey master Leia. Lord… Lord Vader said if I don't, he'll come back and next time he will be angry at me." Talon answered quietly.

"You know, my grandfather always _did_ have a temper. I think it runs in the family because my aunt Leia has a pretty good one too. She's just sneakier about how she lets it out though." Ben answered easily.

Cilghal was glancing back and forth between Ben and Talon as she tried to comprehend exactly what had somehow transpired last night. She couldn't help but wonder if it had happened before or after everyone had experienced Talon's nightmare. As much as she wanted to treat Talon's leg for the pain that the girl was in, she needed to know what was going on as well. That was why she was holding her silence for now.

"Well, my aunt tried to tell you that my grandfather would want you to be a Jedi. Now you know she wasn't joking, don't you?" Ben asked lightly.

Talon nodded her head slightly. "I thought Lord Vader was angry at me." She repeated softly.

Ben waited in silence as the serving droid approached with Talon's food. He raised his eyebrows at what the girl had ordered, but figured that since she didn't know any better that he shouldn't say anything to her until later.

"Well, it's pretty obvious that he _didn't_ kill you, or you would be sitting there eating." Ben joked lightly.

"He sounded like he was angry at me." Talon replied in a near whisper.

"No Talon. He wasn't." Ben said candidly.

"My grandfather has never done _anything_ without a good reason for it. He wants you to become a Jedi, because… being a Sith is _wrong_. He found that out the hard way, and he just doesn't want you to make the same mistakes that he did." Ben told her lightly.

"How do you know this?" Cilghal asked curiously.

"Simple. He and I talked about it afterwards." Ben replied without mentioning the unspoken warning about the future.

Cilghal knew that there was something the Jedi Knight wasn't saying, but whatever it was had to stay between him, Talon, and the spirit of Anakin Skywalker. Anything she might have been about to say was cut off by the entrance of one of the younglings that she'd had to sedate. Even with medication this particular youngling had struggled to remain awake terrified that the nightmare would return or that the monsters which were in it would come to get her. It was at that point that she got up to go to the infirmary, being certain that she would probably need to sedate some of the younglings once again, and she needed to get talon some pain killer along with another bacta treatment.

"Hey Talon… did… did you have the bad dream too?" Pleena asked nervously as she approached the table Talon was sitting at.

Talon shook her head because she wasn't sure what Pleena was talking about, and she knew that nothing from last night had been any kind of a dream.

"You got lucky. That was the scariest thing I've ever seen." Pleena said sorrowfully as she went up to the line to get a tray.

Ben watched the young Nautolan leave the table and turned his attention back to Talon.

"Talon… I want you to have something." Ben said as he placed a lightsaber on the table. "This belonged to my grandfather. He built it, and used it when he was still Anakin Skywalker, before he became Darth Vader. I think he would want you to hang on to it and let it remind you that he was first a Jedi… and that he _died_ as a Jedi."

Talon stared at the lightsaber on the table in front of her. She could sense the power contained in the weapon, because however he had built it, she knew that somehow Lord Vader had infused it with the Force. She reached out and carefully picked it up while staring at it in awe.

'_This… this was _his_! This lightsaber belonged to Lord Vader. Lord Vader wants me to be a Jedi, and now… and now… I even have his Jedi lightsaber!_' Talon didn't know what to say. She sat there and stared at the lightsaber for a moment before she placed on her belt. She looked back up at the Jedi in front of her in a state of shock.

Ben smiled, because he knew, just _knew_ that presenting Talon with that lightsaber was going to make the difference that his grandfather wanted. "I want you to remember one thing Talon. That is the lightsaber of a Jedi, _not_ a Sith… understand? It was built and used by my grandfather, then my father used it, and then, after recovering it from Bespin, I used it. That lightsaber has been wielded by three generations of Jedi… now it's your turn. You will be the first person who is _not_ of Anakin, or _Vader's_ blood to use it."

Talon nodded her head quickly. "Yes, Master."

"I'm not _your_ Master, Talon, and I'm not a Master at all, just a Jedi Knight." Ben answered lightly.

Anything else Talon had been about to say was cut off by the arrival of the server droid with Talon's food. She had just placed her napkin in her lap when Pleena came back to the table.

"Knight Skywalker? Can I sit with Talon?" Pleena asked hopefully.

"Sure." Ben answered easily. "I was just getting some stuff to take with me." He said as he got up from the table, grabbing the sweet rolls, and caf.

Talon watched the Jedi leave with wide eyes. His actions had just made it clear to her that he had only waited to give her Lord Vader's lightsaber, and he had done so where others hadn't seen it. She was all too aware of the added weight and pressure on her belt from the presence of the lightsaber.

Pleena could see that Talon was preoccupied by something, and she hoped that that it wasn't the night mare everyone had experienced at the same time. Just _thinking_ about the horrible monsters she had seen in that dream sent chills down her spine. Noticing that Talon wasn't eating, she looked over at the other girl's plate and her solid black eyes bulged in her green face.

"That's not breakfast; that's _dinner_!" Pleena exclaimed loudly.

"But Master Leia said that I could ask for what I wanted." Talon replied worriedly.

"You mean you _asked_ for that?" Pleena demanded in disbelief.

Talon nodded her head slowly. She wondered if she had done something wrong. Master Leia had told her that this was the correct time to eat, and that she was to order the kind of food she wanted, but now someone else was telling her that she had gotten the wrong thing. Although she was sure that Master Leia was right, she couldn't help but wonder if there were certain kinds of foods that were meant for certain meals. She would have to ask Master Leia about that later.

Just as Ben left the cafeteria, he caught the Healer Cilghal just as she was about to go back in. "Hey, about last night. I really don't think Talon was given any choice. When I first saw her, the Force ghost of Darth Vader was driving her backwards past the lounge. She was wearing pajamas if that makes any difference, so I think she was pulled out of bed. She wasn't given the opportunity to put on her thermal regulators, optical filter, or even her leg brace, because Vader never gave her the chance." Ben said quickly before he shook his head slowly. "He wasn't just sparring either. I don't think he was holding back at _all_, because I've _never_ seen saber work like that!"

"Talon isn't in any condition to be fighting. Surely a Force ghost would have known that, and just how did she manage to defeat him?" Cilghal demanded incredulously.

"She didn't." Ben answered softly as he looked at the Healer seriously. Then, as soon as he saw that she was beginning to realize the implications of what he said, he continued. "I think he was trying to get a measure of her resolve; to find out if she _really_ intends to become a Jedi, or if she was simply telling the Council what they wanted to hear. Once she answered him, he lowered the weapon he'd taken from her, and told her that she'd better _stay_ a Jedi, or he'd be coming back to deal with her permanently. He wasn't joking either."

"No, I suppose he wasn't. He wouldn't have gone to such trouble over a joke." Cilghal mused quietly.

"I know you'd like to get her taken care of, so I'll fill you in on the rest later, besides, my aunt will need to hear this; so will the Council, and I do _not_ feel like repeating it a dozen times." Ben said with a heavy sigh.

Cilghal nodded before entering the cafeteria to give Talon her injection of pain killer and bacta treatment.

Jedi Master Leia Organa Solo entered the quarters belonging to her apprentice, and saw the young girl sitting on the end of her bed staring at a lightsaber that was also on the bed. Suddenly she was looking back at Talon with a hard appraising eye as she studied the girl's belt. All four of the lightsabers she had brought with her from the Sith Academy were still there… so where had she gotten this one from? As she looked at it, the lightsaber seemed familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen it before.

"Where did you get that from?" Leia asked gently in a casual tone.

"Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker gave it to me." Talon answered quietly in an awe filled tone.

"Really? Did he say why?" Leia asked slightly puzzled, since Talon already had _four_ lightsabers of her own.

"He… he said that this lightsaber once belonged to Lord Vader when he was a Jedi; that Lord Vader's son used it, then Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker used it, and now he says it's my turn." Talon replied in a somewhat mystified voice.

Now Leia knew where she'd seen that particular lightsaber before! It had been in Luke's possession when she'd first met her brother about the original Death Star. She also knew that it had been lost along with Luke's right hand when he'd first faced Darth Vader and learned the truth of his heritage. She knew that Ben had recovered it from Bespin, but she wasn't aware that he still had it. More than a bit surprised, she reach out picked up the lightsaber and ignited it.

As the brilliant blade flashed into existence with a snap-hiss, Talon stared at the humming blade in surprise. It was blue… just like her Master's. Lord Vader's lightsaber wasn't _red_… it was blue.

Leia knelt down in front of Talon who looked at her with a multitude of unspoken questions in those glowing golden eyes. "You know Talon, my brother and I weren't left much of anything when our father died. This lightsaber is all we have of him aside from his legacy. It's very special to Luke, to Ben… and to me. I'm not sure why Ben gave you this, but I can see that he did. I want… I would _like_ for you to take good care of this. One day, perhaps one of Ben's own children would like to use it as well."

Talon nodded her head as her Master deactivated the lightsaber and handed it to her.

"Master Leia? Will you teach me the right way to be a Jedi?" Talon asked fervently.

Leia reached out and laid a hand on Talon's where the girl was still cradling the lightsaber gently in both hands. "Talon, there is only one way to be a Jedi. You are either a Jedi or you aren't. I told you that I'm going to teach you, so why am I getting the impression that this is something that's become very important to you?"

"Be… because I don't want Lord Vader to be angry at me when… when he comes back." Talon answered fearfully.

Leia stared at her apprentice hard while her mind raced. When she finally found her voice she _had_ to know. "What do you mean 'when he comes _back_'?" She asked firmly.

"Lord Vader came here last night. I went back to sleep… like you told me to. But then _he_ came! He picked up this lightsaber from the workstation over there and told me to show him my saber skills." Talon said as she pulled a single hilt lightsaber from the right side of her belt.

"As soon as I got the other one, he attacked me. He was so _strong_! I couldn't feel anyone in the Force except him. I kept trying to back away because I didn't want to fight him, but he kept coming. He told me to tell him why I was here, and I told him that I was here because you wanted me to become a Jedi. That was when he asked if that was what I wanted." Talon explained in an almost terrified whisper.

"And what did you say?" Leia asked just as softly but very curious about the answer.

"I… I told him yes." Talon whispered as she recalled the terrifying fight.

"That's when I thought he was going to kill me, but he turned off the lightsaber and told me to listen to you; to learn what you can teach me. That I _have_ to learn from you or he'd come back, and that he would be _really_ angry." Talon replied as tears brimmed in her eyes. "I… I don't want Lord Vader to be angry at me!"

Leia quickly pulled Talon into a firm embrace. "Just relax Talon. I promise that he won't be angry at you. He just wants you to be a proper Jedi… and _that_ is what you are here to learn, but it's not just me that you need to listen to; it's _all_ of the Jedi Masters and several of the Knights as well. If someone is teaching a class, then that is who you listen to, and learn from. If you don't understand something, just ask them to explain it to you."

Leia pulled back and held Talon firmly by her shoulders. "This isn't the Sith Academy Talon. Here… if you have a question, then you should ask that question. That is how you learn. The only question that we will _not_ answer… is the one you _don't_ ask! Understand?"

Talon nodded her head slowly, before her Master smiled and pulled her back into one of those hugs. She didn't know what it was for, but she would readily admit that it felt… it felt _good_ to be held by her Master in a way that didn't result in a lot of pain, agony, and suffering on her part. Being so close to her master also meant that she didn't have to endure the constant barrage of torrential emotions impinging of her mind and destroying her thoughts. Although she didn't know the words to describe the feeling, Talon _loved_ being held by her Master like this.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's Notes: Drakonian, Thanks! **____** That would be TREMENDOUSLY appreciated. Even if you aren't writing anything of your own to post, having a profile will allow this site to send you e-mails on new chapters for the stories that you like to follow. This also means that you will know in less than five minutes after I post a new chapter on this story. That will also allow you to leave signed reviews and I can respond with a LOT more detailed information than I can here.**_

Talon followed Master Leia through the Temple on her way to her first class as a Jedi. She didn't know exactly how she was supposed to feel about that, but she _did_ know that she was doing what her master and the other Jedi wanted. She was also doing what _Lord Vader_ had _told_ her to do! It was that last part that she didn't fully understand, because Lord Vader had been one of the most powerful Sith to ever live, and yet he wanted her to become a Jedi. She tried not to think about that because it was just too confusing.

The first class she was to take part in was galactic history. That, at least was something of a relief to Talon, because she knew that she had actually learned well the history lessons that she and the others had been taught by Darth Magus. Talon was looking forward to this, because she knew that she could do well and maybe show her new Master just how hard she was willing to work in order to do what was expected of her.

Leia watched as Talon took her seat in the middle of the room and waited for other students to enter. Since there was no one else around just yet, Leia decided to explain some of the rules regarding classrooms to Talon.

"Talon, there are some rules about these classes that you need to know. If you have a question, then you raise your hand and wait until your name is called. Then you can ask your question. If the instructor asks a question, and you think you know what the answer is, then raise your hand, and again, wait to be called on. If the instructor calls on you to answer a question, look directly at them and answer in a way that can be heard by everyone. If you _don't_ know the answer, then don't raise your hand. It's that simple… you can follow those rules, right?" Leia explained easily.

Talon nodded her head, because the rules were very simple and easy to follow.

"Good! Now, when this class is over, I want you to go with the students to the next one. The rules of all the classes are the same." Leia said with a light smile before she left. Leia _really_ didn't want to leave Talon there. She could almost _feel_ the Force telling her that something bad would happen to the girl. Leia brushed it off because she was certain that nothing could happen to Talon, since the girl's saber skills _far_ exceeded her own, and a Jedi Knight would be instructing the class. All told, Leia was certain that nothing could happen before she could get there to help deal with the problem.

Talon sat and waited quietly as the room began filling with other students. Some of the other students who were sitting close to each other began to whisper about various things, but from what she could hear, the most common topic of discussion was the nightmare that had _everyone_ had experienced last night. She sat at her small workstation and waited in silence for the Jedi who would be instructing the class. She had learned through the horrible experience of observation that students were not to speak to each other while awaiting instructors, and she dreaded what she would have to see when the Jedi instructor arrived.

"All right everyone! Quiet down, and take your seats so we can get started." Said the Jedi Knight as she walked in.

The Jedi waited until everyone had taken a seat and gotten quiet. "I believe that there are some of you who I am not familiar with. So allow me to introduce myself. I am Jedi Knight Vaala Razelle. I know it's a big galaxy out there, and that some of you might not know what species I am, so I will tell you that I am Arconan."

Talon took a quick and thorough though unobtrusive look at the Jedi who was instructing the class. At not quite twice her height, she guessed that the Jedi was about two meters tall with solid green eyes and black skin. A rather slender appearance, but the Knight's body was concealed by a long robe typical of the Jedi.

"Now… let's begin. Does anyone know the cause of The Great Hyperspace War?" The Jedi asked the class as a whole.

This was something that Talon knew. Darth Magus had been adamant about teaching the history of the Sith, and making certain that _everyone_ knew that history. Talon raised her hand after seeing that no one else planned to try answering that question.

"You with your hand up; I am not familiar with you, so I will ask your name." The instructor said in a casual though polite tone.

"I'm… I'm called Talon."

"Very well then Talon; tell the class the cause of The Great Hyperspace War." The Jedi said with a nod.

"The Great Hyperspace War was cause by the economic pressures from the members of the galaxy who were imposing various sanctions on the Sith. Since Korriban is a world where everything, including food and water has to be imported, those sanctions were incredibly effective. For several centuries they obtained what food and other supplies they could from Zoist, but it just wasn't enough. When Zoist was blockaded that was almost the end of the Sith. The Sith were desperate and they had no choice. It was either go to war, or starve… they had no other choice, so they went to war." Talon recited easily.

"The war was short and violent with the Republic quickly gaining the advantage. The result was that the Sith were almost completely exterminated. They did manage to gather some of the vital resources they needed from a few worlds but not enough. That caused extreme hardship, rationing, and very careful use of what supplies that they were able to retrieve. The resource shortage was serious enough that any who became gravely injured were killed to prevent the loss of resources that could be put to more efficient use by those who were not injured. That practice was continued out of necessity." Talon finished knowing that she had recalled everything just as she had been taught.

Vaala stared at the girl who had spoken for a moment before she realized that this _had_ to be some type of joke or prank being pulled on her. She took a brief moment to release her feelings in the Force and gather her thoughts before addressing the issue at hand.

"Well, Talon… while your history recital is… _interesting_… it is also very, _very_ wrong! I will not allow you or anyone else to disrupt my teaching of this class, and I will certainly not have this class mocked while doing so. Come with me." Vaala said firmly before looking at the rest of the class. "I want the rest of you to read about the _truth_ of The Great Hyperspace War. That will be discussed when I return."

Talon got up out of her chair and followed the Jedi. She wasn't sure how she could be wrong when she had recalled that part of history exactly as she had been taught. She was then led to a place where some students were cleaning several shuttles.

"Since you are too small to be cleaning the shuttles, and your left leg is in a brace, you may clean the droids that service those shuttles. You are not to return until these droids are _clean_. Is that clear?" Vaala instructed.

Talon nodded her head and watched the Jedi leave. She stared at the droids in front of her and wondered what she had done wrong, and why she was being rewarded if she had done something wrong.

Pleena Fisto knew that all of the classes had ended almost two hours ago, but she hadn't seen Talon anywhere. Her new friend hadn't been at lunch, and wasn't in the infirmary when she'd checked in there. Kaldin was still unconscious, but should wake up soon, and Pleena wanted Talon to be there right along with her when he woke up. She'd looked all over the Temple at _least_ five times, but maybe she'd just missed seeing her by a second or two.

'_Maybe she wanted some fresh air.'_ Pleena though as the young Nautolan wandered out onto the large landing pad.

That was when she saw her. Talon was staring off into the distance with a blank look on her face… just standing there. Pleena cocked her head as she tried to figure out what was going on. Looking at Talon along with the girl's surroundings, showed several cleaning rags that had fallen to the ground as if dropped with no thought at all. She walked over while calling the girl's name, but got no answer.

"Talon?" Pleena asked again as she waved her right hand in front of the girl's eyes. There was still no answer, and now, Pleena was getting worried. She put her right hand on Talon's shoulder and gave a light shake to get the girl's attention. There was still no response. She stared at Talon for a moment while she tried to think of… _something_ that would explain why Talon wasn't answering, responding, or even moving.

Pleena took a step back as her concern quickly became fear for the girl. She turned and ran inside as fast as her legs could carry her. Large orbs that appeared to look like polished onyx took in almost everything at once, and she ran up to the first adult that she saw.

"Please, you have to do something. I don't know what's wrong with her, but Talon won't answer me or anything. She just stands there like… like something stole her mind or something." Pleena pleaded desperately.

Vaala Razelle remembered a human girl named Talon who'd been in her first class this morning. She _also_ remembered the prank that the girl had tried to pull which had _not_ been amusing at all! If this was indeed the same girl, then this was possibly another prank. If so, _that_ would have to be stopped at once. Harmless pranks were one thing, but a stunt that caused others to be concerned, or disrupted a daily schedule would not be tolerated. She nodded her head and quickly followed the young initiate who was clearly upset over this. Being led straight to the shuttle pad where the service droids stayed, she could see that they had been properly cleaned, but she also saw the same girl from this morning simply standing and staring at the buildings with a blank expression. She walked over to the girl and called her name to no avail.

"Talon… I am telling you that this is not considered to be funny." Vaala said sternly.

Receiving no response at all, she made a light probe in the Force, and sensed what she was sure was some level of fear, but she couldn't identify anything else. Without a second thought, the Jedi Knight swept the girl into her arms before taking her inside, and straight to the infirmary.

As soon as the Jedi Knight entered the infirmary, Cilghal looked up from where she was examining the young Kaldin. The sight of Talon simply hanging limp in those arms was not something she expected to see.

"What happened?" Cilghal demanded tersely as she indicated a bed for the girl.

"That, I don't know. What I do know, is that this morning this same girl spouted a lot of drivel about how the Sith were pushed into starting The Great Hyperspace War, so I took her to the landing pad. Other students were already cleaning the shuttles, so I told her to clean the service droids as punishment. She might have spent all day out there, I don't know, but a few moments ago, that young initiate asked me for help with her. She was just standing there; completely unresponsive, so I brought her here." Vaala stated quickly.

Cilghal grunted in disgust as she set about scanning Talon with various medical sensors. "For future reference, Talon was raised by… a _group_ on Korriban, so whatever information she's been taught would be a twisted version of reality." She said after a glance at the young Nautolan in the room. She did _not_ wish to be the cause of Talon becoming an outcast among the students.

Cilghal sighed in irritation because she was unable to find much of anything _physically_ wrong with the girl. There was a mild case of sunburn on her face, but that was very minor, and did nothing to explain Talon's condition.

"So she actually believed that what she was telling me was the truth?" Vaala asked.

"Oh yes. I think her _instructors_ wanted to make absolutely _sure_ that none of the students would be able to survive on their own, or with anyone outside that group. Almost every bit of information that she knows is a lie." Cilghal answered distractedly.

"If that's true, then she didn't deserve to receive her punishment." Vaala said heavily.

"I don't know if she did or not, but I need to summon Master Solo, and see if she can get a response from Talon, because there isn't much that's physically wrong with her." The Mon Cal Healer said before doing just that.

Pleena was staying out of the way by standing next to Kaldin's bed, and keeping silent since he was asleep, while the Healer examined Talon. She was very worried about her friend now that she understood that even the healer didn't know what was wrong with her. She reached out and grabbed Kaldin's hand while she watched what was going on.

Cilghal got out a container of bacta spray and treated Talon's face, neck, and hands while she waited for Leia to arrive. She didn't have long to wait; in fact she had just finished applying the bacta spray when Leia entered the infirmary.

"Ah good, you're here. See if you can get some type of response from Talon, because there is no physical reason for her to be in this state, and she responds to you better than she does anyone else." Cilghal stated in some relief.

Leia quickly stepped over to the bed that Talon had been placed on. As she looked down at her apprentice, she could see eyes that were open but unfocused. Thinking that perhaps Talon had decided to go off in the Force as she had done before, Leia probed the girl's mind.

Without actually intending to do so, Leia found herself inside Talon's mind. She was somewhat surprised that Talon was actually present and not off somewhere in the Force. Sensing Talon's presence, she created the room of a thousand fountains, placed herself on a dais, and then did the same for Talon. Just as Talon looked at her, Leia felt an impossibly powerful wave of purest terror crash over her. _Far_ beyond fear, this was a wave of mortal terror of a kind that Leia had never experienced before! Thankfully, she only felt a brief instant of it before her concentration was shattered, and she was returned to her own mind. Leia shook her head as she opened her eyes to look at Talon.

Talon looked up at her Jedi Master and immediately sat up grabbing desperately at the woman's hand reaching out for her. "I… I promise! I _promise_ I'll fight the Guardians for you. I'll go back to Korriban. I'll get the holocrons… just don't… don't make me go back there. I'll… I'll do anything you want… _anything_!" She begged as tears of desperation and terror ran from her golden eyes.

"Talon calm down! No one is going to make you fight the Guardians, okay? Now just tell me what's wrong. Go back where; where do you not want to go?" Leia instructed firmly as she wrapped her arms around her apprentice in an effort to offer some form of comfort.

"Where… wh… where the droids are." Talon stammered in terror.

"Talon… I'm not sure I understand this properly. Explain it to me, why do you not want to go back there?" Leia asked gently as she tried to think of some way to get through the girl's fear.

"I… I don't… don't know." Talon said as she started to cry.

"Mark me for a fool!" Cilghal exploded. "I should have known it sooner."

"Known what?" Leia asked as everyone in the infirmary looked at the healer.

"Think about for a moment. Where has Talon spent her entire life?" Cilghal asked intently.

"On Korriban." Leia answered in a puzzled tone.

"No… not _on_ Korriban… she spent her life _in_ Korriban! She's constantly been surrounded on all sides by _kilometers_ of solid rock! Now for the first time that she was able to _see_; she was outside, with almost nothing around her but open areas." Cilghal stated.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Leia asked still confused.

"Agoraphobia. It's an actual and legitimate fear of wide open and therefore unenclosed spaces. Having spent her life deep in the bowels of Korriban, it isn't the least surprising that Talon would be mortally afraid of not having some kind of protecting shelter around her." Cilghal told her.

Leia glanced at Talon who was watching them while still obviously afraid. "If that's the case, then how did she make the flight here?" She asked suspiciously.

"Simple, Talon was _enclosed_ by the cockpit of the fighter craft! _That_ is what kept her fear away… well that and fear of the beasts that would have eaten her alive had she stayed." Cilghal answered clearly.

"Make no mistake Leia, this can be a very debilitating fear…, _but_ it's also one that can be overcome with time, proper counseling, and effort." Cilghal added reassuringly.

"_Good_! In the meantime…" Leia said as she turned her attention to Talon.

"I will be making _sure_ that you do not get sent outside again. If you _do_ go outside, I'll make absolutely _sure_ that I'm right there with you… understand?" Leia said seriously as she looked Talon in the eyes.

Talon nodded her head as she looked at Master Leia. She could feel the truth of what her Master was telling her, and that allowed her crying to subside.

"I wish to apologize to you Talon." Vaala said as she stepped up to the end of the bed. "First I was not aware that you were speaking what you believed to be the truth in my class this morning. Had I known that such was the case, you would not have been punished to begin with. Second, I wish to offer my most _sincere_ apology for issuing a punishment with such serious repercussions! Had I been aware of your fear of open spaces, I would have called the droids inside for you to clean them there and serve out your punishment inside where you would feel safely protected. Again… I am truly sorry for putting you through that."

Talon looked up at her Master in total confusion. "Cleaning the droids was supposed to be a punishment?"

"Yes Talon." Leia said heavily. "_That_ was your punishment!"

"Being sent outside… making you feel so afraid like you were… _that_ was a mistake, and one that I will not repeat!" Vaala added quickly.

"But… but that isn't a punishment… cleaning droids is how we were rewarded for doing something right. Punishment is getting hit with Force lightning." Talon said softly in confusion.

"That won't happen here Talon. We don't use Force lightning, or choke… instead we punish students by making them clean things they normally wouldn't have to. It gives them time to reflect on what they've done so they don't repeat the action that earned the punishment in the first place." Leia said gently as she pulled back while still keeping her right hand on Talon's shoulder.

"We also do not _intentionally_ place a student in fear as I did to you earlier. Again, I am truly sorry for doing that to you." Vaala added quickly.

Vaala knew that she could never apologize enough for what she had inadvertently done. It was true that she had intended to punish Talon, but she had _not_ intended to place the girl in such a paralyzed state of terror. _That_ was completely uncalled for, and she knew it. Add in that Talon had apparently stood there throughout the entire day, completely frozen in a state of total panic and mortal fear made her feel unworthy of being a member of the Jedi Order. The strange thing was; neither the Healer nor Talon's Master seemed to be angry about the incident. She knew… or rather, she _hoped_, that when she obtained an Apprentice of her own, that she would be much more vocal in defending her Apprentice than these two seemed to be.

"Master Cilghal… is Talon going to be okay?" Pleena asked in hope as she stood by Kaldin's bed.

"Talon is going to be fine, Pleena. She just received a very nasty scare today that's all. Just like you are afraid of the dark, Talon is afraid of large, open spaces. You have no problem going outside, but that's exactly what frightened Talon so much that she _couldn't_ respond to you. Now before you say anything Pleena, there is another side of that which you need to consider. You are afraid of the dark… and Talon isn't. In fact… Talon _needs_ the dark so much that she can't really see in here without that filter she's wearing over her eyes. It's just _far_ too bright in here for her, and it hurts her eyes badly." Cilghal answered gently as she explained the situation.

"So… she's not scared of going into a dark room?" Pleena asked in surprise.

Leia gave a brief chuckle of laughter at that. "No… she's not. When I go into her room, I have to be very careful where I'm going because I can barely see her bed, the chair, or her workstation. It was _always_ that dark where she grew up."

"Didn't the Sith have glow rods?" Pleena asked as she tried to understand _how_ Talon could live in the dark all the time.

Cilghal and Leia both turned to look at the young Nautolan girl in surprise, while the Arconan Knight gaped at the girl not wanting to believe the accusation she'd just heard.

"How did you know Talon grew up with the Sith?" Leia asked quietly.

"Talon told me." Pleena answered plainly. "That's also where she got her red lightsabers from. If the Sith had taught her how to use them, then she wouldn't have been able to save Kaldin yesterday. Everyone here says that Sith are mean, but Talon isn't. She even showed me and a bunch of others the difference between Soresu and Ataru on the holovids recording of her fighting the remotes. I don't care what anyone says about the Sith in the history lessons… Talon's not like that!" She continued defiantly.

Leia smiled as she leaned toward the young Nautolan girl. "_That_… Young Jedi… is _exactly_ the kind of intelligence and reasoning abilities that this Order is looking for!" She said in approval.

At that moment Pleena felt ten meters tall and lightsaber proof. She knew very well who Master Leia Solo was, and to get that kind of praise from the former Grand Master's _sister_ meant a lot! She _was_ surprised that Leia was now a Master even though she'd had a bit of time to get over that piece of information. That was when she realized something.

Pleena quickly walked across the infirmary to stand next to the bed that Talon was on, and looked at Talon before looking up at Master Cilghal seriously. "Can I take Talon to the lounge so she can get something to eat? If she was sent outside this morning, then that means she's been out there all day and missed lunch and everything."

"A good observation Pleena, we'll all go get something to eat since it's now mealtime." Cilghal answered.


	14. Chapter 14

Pleena sat next to Talon in the lounge sipping on Broulahn tea. Talon had proven to be very hungry by eating three helpings of nerfloaf. She felt like she was keeping some rather exalted company, since she was at the same table, and talking with Masters Solo and Cilghal as well. It wasn't like they were discussing anything important to the Order, since it was mostly about Talon, and when the girl might be able to resume working on her saber skills. That last part sort of confused her though. She'd seen for herself and through the recording just how good Talon was, and Knight Skywalker had even _admitted_ that Talon was better than he was.

'_If Talon's really that good with her lightsabers, then why does she even have to train at all?'_ Pleena wondered before realizing that she _could_ just ask.

"Hey Talon, how come you still have to train if you're one of the best with a lightsaber?" Pleena asked curiously.

"I have to train in the Whirlus Form so I can finish developing it." Talon answered.

"I never heard of this '_Whirlus_' Form before. What is it?" Pleena asked interestedly.

"It's a Form of lightsaber combat that allows one to use two double bladed lightsabers in conjunction with each other. I started developing it when Darth Magus made me use two staves so he could finally beat me." Talon replied tonelessly before taking another sip of her tea.

Pleena would have admitted that she was young, but she wasn't stupid. She knew right away that Talon didn't like this '_Darth Magus_' at all. She could feel it in her friend. True there was no emotion at all in Talon's voice, and even Talon's face was blank, but what Pleena could feel in the Force was something else entirely. Desolation, despair, fear, and even outright terror; those were the things that she could sense from Talon, and she didn't like it… _at all_! Talon had told her and several others a few things about lightsaber forms when she didn't have to. Talon had done a bunch of things like that. She had saved Kaldin while fighting on a broken leg when she wasn't even supposed to be _practicing_. That meant that this '_Darth Magus_' must have been someone _really_ mean.

"Where's Darth Magus now?" Pleena asked with animosity in her voice.

"He's dead. One of the Guardians ate him." Talon answered.

"_Good_! I hope he makes that Guardian sick enough to puke him up all over the place. That way Darth Magus will be a nasty, disgusting puddle of puke _forever_!" Pleena said emphatically with a very serious look on her face.

Leia Organa Solo snorted tea through her nose as she choked from trying to swallow and laugh at the same time. She didn't know where children and younglings came up with such things, and to be perfectly honest, she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to either. The hot tea burned as she struggled to cough it out of her lungs, and clear her sinuses at the same time. She finally managed to get control of herself, only to realize that Cilghal had faced the _exact_ same problem!

"Pleena… you and I… are in _full_ agreement on that! Except, I think you're being _far_ too nice to Darth Magus. After the things he did… he _deserves_ a lot worse, but he's already dead and there is nothing more we can do to him except forget him. Being completely forgotten is the one thing a Sith Lord would hate above all else." Leia told the girl firmly but with a smile.

Talon knew that both the young Nautolan and Master Leia meant what they had said. She could feel that both were very angry at Darth Magus. She knew that Master Leia had been inside her mind, and therefore knew all about the now dead Sith Lord, but how did Pleena know anything about him?

"How do you know what Darth Magus was like?" Talon asked Pleena curiously as she looked across the table at the girl.

"I don't. But I know what I just felt in the Force, and I know it came from you, so I can tell how _you_ feel about him, and that's all I need to know. You're nice, so that means he couldn't have been." Pleena said sternly.

"You are very right about that Pleena. Darth Magus wasn't nice at all. He did a lot of things to Talon that she won't want to talk about any time soon. In fact I think that using Force lightning on her was probably the _nicest_ of the things he did to her!" Cilghal said as she looked to her right at the girl sitting next to her. "I know that your uncle, Kit Fisto, was a Master in the old Order, and I think he'd be proud of you for making friends with someone who was raised by the Sith."

"I'm not making friends with Talon so people will be proud of me. I'm going to be friends with her because she's nice to be around!" Pleena protested hotly as she stared at the Jedi Healer.

Suddenly Pleena frowned. "You really think my uncle would be proud of me?" She asked doubtfully.

"Yes Pleena, he would… and so am I." Leia said with a light chuckle.

Talon wasn't sure what to think in regard to what was being said. She could sense a lot of emotions from Pleena, but she was only familiar with a few of them, and one was only because it was something Master Leia had shown her. That one emotion was friendship, and she could sense that emotion burning strong and bright in Pleena. The strange thing was; she could tell that it was being directed at her. She wasn't sure what to think of that, because she really didn't understand what it meant.

"Pleena… I need to tell you some things about Talon. I know you mean well, and I know you want to be her friend, but you need to understand that she's never had a friend before. In fact, she doesn't even know what a friend _is_! There are a lot of things we take for granted because it's something we're used to, but things like friendship, love, or even trust are things she has never known. She doesn't even know what the _words_ mean, so you can bet that she doesn't understand what it means to actually _have_ a friend, let alone one that she can trust." Leia said in a firm but gentle tone.

Shocked surprise vied with an expression of pained hurt on Pleena's face as she tried to understand what the Jedi Master was telling her. Suddenly, Pleena looked over at Talon with pain evident in her solid black eyes. "I'm sorry Talon."

"Why?" Talon asked in confusion.

"Because that Sith Academy had to be a _really_ bad place to live if you never had a friend, and don't know what one is. It's not right, and I'm sorry you had to live there." Pleena said seriously.

Talon only nodded her head because she really had no idea what to say to that.

"Do you think your room mates are there right now?" Pleena asked Talon curiously.

"Talon doesn't have any room mates Pleena. You know how quarters are assigned according to those who have similar environmental needs while at the same time helping them to over come any possible xenophobic tendencies. Well… Talon needs to stay in what you or I would consider to be a very _cold_ environment. That's why she has special robes with hundreds of meters of tubing which allows circulation of cold air generated by the thermal modulation units on her belt. She can't very well sleep in those robes, so she has a room to herself so she can have the temperature settings that she needs. Temperatures that you and I find comfortable can kill Talon because she'll over heat; before she passes out and dies." Leia informed the girl.

"I knew those robes were thick, but I thought it was because you were cold, not because you _need_ it cold!" Pleena said to Talon in surprise.

"My quarters are warm." Talon protested to Pleena softly. "They aren't as hot as it is out here, or like the lava caverns, but they're warm."

"They are warm to _you_ Talon. They are still _very_ cold to me! That's why I have to either put on some extra clothes, or adjust the temperature settings when I enter." Leia said quickly.

"Then… then why haven't you told me not to set the temperature down for me? Why did you even show me how to adjust the temperature?" Talon asked in disbelief.

"Because Talon, those are _your_ quarters! _You_ need to be comfortable in them! That set of rooms isn't for _me_, they are for _you_! That is where you sleep, and where you study, or just relax. That's for you Talon, not for me or anyone else… _you_! Understand?" Leia said firmly.

"You need to understand this Talon, this isn't the Sith Academy. You are here to learn from us. You can't do that if you are so miserable or uncomfortable that you can't study properly. Being too cold or too hot is included in that; that is why you have a room all to yourself, so that _you_ will be able to be happy. The only types of separation that we allow is according to either environmental needs or gender. So even though your room is cold enough for a wampa, if we had a male wampa here, he would still have a separate room from you. The only exception to that is if the two are in a relationship. That's why Han and I share a room and a bed, because we're married. Understand?" Leia explained patiently.

"What's 'happy' mean?" Talon asked because this was the second time she'd heard that term, and she was curious about it.

Pleena stared at Talon. First it was in confusion, then, when she realized that her friend really _didn't_ know what happiness was, she gaped in horror. '_How can she not know what being happy is? Unless… unless she's never been happy before. Wait… she doesn't even know what the word means! That means they didn't teach her _anything_ good at that Sith Academy!_'

"I'm not exactly sure how to tell you what happy means Talon. I suppose that you might be 'happy' that you are away from the Guardians, or that you have a name, or even that you don't have to be cold all the time, or that you now get enough to eat. That's about the closest I know of you being happy, Talon, and to be honest with you, those are _not_ very good examples at all." Leia answered after thinking about it for a second.

Pleena's mind was racing as she tried to think of _something_ that would make her happy, so that she could do the same for Talon. The problem was she kept running into things that involved friends, but Talon didn't know what those were either, so how could that help? She knew that it couldn't… not if Talon didn't know what friends were.

"This isn't right!" Pleena said with a frown as she looked over at Master Solo. "I want to show Talon stuff, but I'm not sure if she'll even know what any of it means."

"I know Pleena. There's going to be a lot of work involved in helping Talon to adjust to a whole new way of life. There's a lot that she needs to learn, and I'm not talking about her training either. Talon has never experienced _any_ of the good things in life, such as being happy or having a friend to laugh with or confide in. For that matter, I'm not sure she even knows what trust is." Leia explained.

Pleena looked up at the Jedi Master with a lost and forlorn expression on her face. She wanted to ask for something, but there wasn't anything she could think of that would help. It was something that both irritated and saddened her at the same time.

"Come on Talon; let's go to your room, so we can talk without bothering the Masters." Pleena finally suggested.

Talon nodded her head and led the way to her quarters. She entered as soon as the door slid open, but then she paused and turned around when she felt a huge blast of fear through the Force. Pleena was standing just outside her door looking very, _very_ frightened.

Pleena stared at the dark room in sheer disbelief. She'd been told that not only did Talon like the dark, but that she _needed_ it. It was one thing to be told something, but it was something else to actually _see_ it. Pleena knew that she didn't even _sleep_ in a room near that dark. Just the thought of going in there made her heart pound in her chest, and her breath come in short gasps. She swallowed hard and looked over at Talon to see the girl watching her curiously. Suddenly, Pleena realized that she had a possible answer to one of her problems… _if_ she could manage to pull it off.

"Talon…" Pleena whispered softly in a quavering voice. "I… I want you to know that this… this scares the spit out of me. But…but Master Solo said that you don't know what trust is. So I'm going to show you. I'm… I'm going to trust you to make sure that nothing gets me while I'm in the dark okay?"

With the light from the open doorway, Pleena saw Talon nod her head with a confused expression on her face. At that point she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and stepped forward until she heard the door slide closed behind her. Five steps. Taking those five steps had been the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life. She was now in a dark room, where she couldn't see anything that might be waiting in the shadows. It was dark… so there were shadows _everywhere_! Pleena trembled as she slowly opened her eyes.

Talon was standing right there in front of her watching silently in confusion. "Can… can we sit down?" Pleena asked as she struggled with the near overwhelming fear she felt.

Talon nodded her head and stepped over to the bed and sat down on the end of it. She watched in confusion as Pleena hesitantly took a step, and then a moment later, took another. She could sense the girl's fear through the Force. Then the girl was sitting beside her on the bed darting her head and eyes around to look into every shadow that filled the room.

It was a familiar emotion to her. Talon clearly remembered feeling that same emotion from every single one of the Fighters in the Sith Academy. Fear and terror had been among the most prevalent emotions and the strongest as well. It was something that she both knew and understood, because it was something she always felt. Master Leia had shown her other emotions though. Some of them she had no idea how to name, but there was one that she _did_ know the name of. That feeling was friendship. Master Leia had shown her that particular feeling before she'd ever arrived at the Jedi Academy. Master Leia had also told her that she was safe. Now Pleena was feeling fear… a _lot_ of it! Talon knew that there was nothing in the room that was going to hurt the girl so she didn't really understand why Pleena was so frightened, but she _clearly_ remembered what Master Leia had done for her.

Talon placed her left arm around Pleena's shoulders and pulled the girl close. "You are safe here, because there is nothing in this room that will hurt you." She said softly.

Pleena tried. She really did. She tried to control her fear of the dark, but it was no use. She huddled against Talon's side and trembled as tears slowly began to slide down her face. She would easily admit that she was terrified, but at the same time, those soft words of reassurance from Talon _had_ helped to some small extent. She put her right arm around Talon's waist, buried her face in the girl's shoulder, and cried.

Talon held the girl just as Master Leia had done to her, but she didn't know what to say so that Pleena wouldn't be so frightened. She knew that there was nothing in the room that would cause an injury because she could see that. That was when she looked up as the door to her room slid open with a hiss.

Cilghal entered Talon's room with Leia right behind her. She wasn't sure what she had expected to find, but it certainly wasn't the sight of the two girls sitting quietly on Talon's bed. She could see that Talon had one arm draped over Pleena's shoulders, but wasn't hurting the youngling in any way. Even so, she knew at once why she felt so much fear through the Force. She immediately walked to the environmental controls and turned both the lights and the temperature up to a more normal level. Once the lighting had increased so that she could see, the young Nautolan slowly started to calm down. Cilghal still wasn't pleased with the condition of the obviously panicked youngling, because that level of fright wasn't something that could be quickly recovered from.

Leia could see the girl crying on Talon's shoulder even though struggling not to. She stepped towards the two and pulled them both into her arms while she noted that several other Jedi Knights and Masters were now standing in the still open doorway.

"Pleena… tell me what's wrong." Leia instructed softly.

"No… no… nothing…" Pleena stammered still in tears.

"If nothing's wrong then why are you crying? Why are you so terrified that your fear can be felt all over the Temple?" Leia snapped quickly.

"Be… because… I'm scared of the dark." Pleena stammered.

"Pleena… I _know_ you're afraid of the dark. So why did you come in here, knowing that it was dark in here?" Leia asked firmly but gently.

"Because… because I saw… I saw a chance to show Talon what trust is… and I wanted to show her that I trust her." Pleena said plaintively.

Leia pulled Pleena tightly against her as her mind raced for something to say. Then she pushed the young Nautolan back so that she could look the girl in the eyes. "Pleena, I know you just want help, and I appreciate that. I really do, but it isn't going to be that easy to teach Talon things like friendship and trust. What you just did though? That makes me _very_ proud to know you, and I am very glad that Talon has someone like you for a friend. That was a very, _very_ brave thing you did! Confronting something that terrifies you like that isn't easy even when you are the only one to benefit from it, but to face that kind of fear to help someone else… that has to be one of the bravest things I've ever seen anyone do."

"How… how is that brave when I was so scared I thought I was going to pee all over everywhere?" Pleena protested.

"Pleena… being brave isn't doing something that's easy, and it's not doing something that can get you hurt or killed. Being brave is when you are truly afraid to do something, but you do it anyway. _That_ is what bravery is." Cilghal said as she moved closer to the small group. "What you did took a lot of determination, and I am _positive_ that one day Talon will appreciate what you tried to do for her."

"That's true Pleena, and I can tell right now that Talon has a good friend. Now… Are you going to be okay with the lights turned up to standard?" Leia asked as she watched the girl slowly regain her composure.

Pleena nodded her head before looking at each of the two Jedi Masters. "Can you turn the temperature up? It's freezing in here, and I still want to talk to Talon."


	15. Chapter 15

Pleena sat on the bed in Talon's room while she spent a couple of hours talking to the girl. The more she talked with the girl, the more frustrated and horrified she became. It was one thing to know that the Sith Academy on Korriban wasn't a nice place, but Pleena began to learn to despicable truth of the matter. Talon didn't have any hobbies, had never played any games, nor had she ever had a friend. The more questions she asked, the more disturbed she was by the answers.

"So why were you outside to begin with? If you're scared of going out there; why'd you go out there in the first place?" Pleena asked wondering if she was bringing up something that Talon might want to forget.

"I… I didn't know I would be scared." Talon replied with a frown of confusion.

"The instructor asked what caused the Great Hyperspace War, and I answered just like Darth Magus taught me. The instructor said my answer was wrong, and that I was disrupting the class, so she took me outside to clean the droids. What I don't understand is how that was supposed to be a punishment. Darth Magus always rewarded those who did well by letting them clean the droids. They were excused from their classes for the rest of the day so they would have all the time they wanted if they finished quickly." Talon wondered softly.

"Punishments are supposed to make you think about what you did wrong so you won't do it again. Not try to kill you or make you so scared you want to pee all over _everything_. That doesn't do any good!" Pleena protested hotly.

"Well… maybe it _does_… I mean if I got hit with Force lightning or something like that, I know _I_ wouldn't want that to happen again, so I'd make sure I didn't do whatever it was again. But no one here does things like that, because then everyone would want to leave, and the Masters who run the Temple would have to let them. They can't _make_ someone stay here, and if they stuck me in a really dark room like the way yours was, I'd want to go back home." Pleena added.

"Besides I got _more_ than enough of that when I got lost in the lower levels that time." Pleena said with a frown of her own.

"How did you get lost if you were here in the Temple?" Talon asked in confusion.

"It… it was one of the first few days that I was here. I was exploring the Temple; trying to see everything. Down in the lower level, it was _really_ interesting, because they still hadn't fixed all the damage that the Empire did to the place. There was still scorch marks and blaster holes in the walls, floors, and ceiling. I still don't know what all happened but it must have been a _huge_ fight when the Empire took over, because not even all the lights were working. Most of them didn't work at all, and a lot of the ones that did just sort of flickered. Everything was still a mess. You could see where a lot of stuff had been burned or smashed. Some of the computer terminals were shooting sparks." Pleena said musingly.

"I'm not supposed to tell this part to others because the Council doesn't want the others getting afraid to be here." Pleena said nervously. "But since you were on Korriban, and you already know all about the Sith… so I guess I can tell you."

"I was just walking… walking around down there. Suddenly everything went black. It… it was so dark I couldn't see _anything_! Not even… not even the sparks from the computers. That didn't bother me then though, because I wasn't scared of the dark then." Pleena said honestly.

"Then there was this laugh. It… it was so _evil_! It was like the floor, walls and the whole _Temple_ was laughing at me! That's when I felt things touching me… the whole time this woman's voice was telling me what a failure I was, and that I would never… never make a good Jedi. That I was going to die first. That's when I started getting scared." Pleena said haltingly while starting to breathe heavily.

"I didn't know what was going on. I thought the Temple was being haunted by the ghosts of the old Jedi or something. Then, that woman's voice started telling me that I was going to… going to get cut apart like my Uncle Kit…. and… it started laughing like that was the best joke in the galaxy! I… I even _heard_ my uncle's voice! He… he said _'sleep… life is a dream'_. What's bad about it is; I don't know if it's true, but those were supposed to be his last words, because that's what that woman's voice told me. Then his head showed up. His skin was grey because he was dead, but fresh blood was dripping out of the ragged stump where his neck was supposed to be. Then he disappeared; it was solid black; there were things touching me, but I couldn't see them. I couldn't see _anything_! I couldn't see what was touching me, and I… I couldn't see who was laughing at me either." Pleena explained as she fought for self control.

"Then… then I saw a face appear out of nowhere. That's all there was… a face. No lightsaber, no lightning… just her face. She had blue hair and she kept laughing at me, telling me how pathetic I was. Lightning started shooting from her hair, and her eyes started glowing with more electricity. Flames started shooting out of her mouth every time she laughed. Then I started seeing more things… skeletons with rotten bits of flesh on them… walking _around_! One would look at me without any eyes and tell me how good I was going to taste while it ripped me apart!" Pleena said in near tears.

"There were skulls floating around with balls of fire instead of eyes. They would look at me and laugh."

Talon had remained silent through all of this because Pleena really didn't give her time to say anything; plus, she had no idea _what_ to say. She could readily understand why anyone would be afraid of such things; because just hearing about it was enough to make her afraid. She couldn't help but wonder… how could you kill something that was already dead?

"Then that woman's face said that she was someone named _Darth Phobos_; that she was going to kill me! Talon, I was so scared I couldn't even pee on myself." Pleena exclaimed with wide fearful eyes.

"I've heard about Darth Phobos. The Sith and Jedi had to fight together to try and kill her. I guess they didn't succeed. I think everyone was scared of her… that's why they joined forces to kill her. The Sith tried, but she survived having her ship blown up while she was on it. Darth Magus told us that many believed she was still alive for centuries after she was killed_._ He told us that she made a holocron, but no one knows what happened to it." Talon said quietly.

"I didn't know all that… but I know that Master Skywalker had to fight her and kill her. I was only five when that happened… well _almost_ five, but I'm still scared of the dark because of that." Pleena finished ruefully.

"Master Skywalker killed her?" Talon demanded in astonished disbelief.

"Yes, and I'm glad he did too." Pleena answered quickly in a soft voice.

Now Talon knew that Master Skywalker was a _lot_ more powerful than he'd allowed her to believe. He'd faced Lord Vader not once, but _twice_, and survived both of those encounters. Then there was the fact that he'd fought Darth Sidious and survived that as well. Now Pleena had just told her how Master Skywalker had also killed Darth Phobos; a Sith Master who was so powerful, and so vicious that hundreds of Sith Masters working together hadn't been able to deal with her. That Master Skywalker had been able to succeed in such a thing when the combined power of the Sith, _and_ the Jedi had apparently failed spoke of more power and skill than she could even imagine.

That was when she realized that Pleena had been confronted by the single most dangerous Mistress of the Sith when she had no training, and no weapons of any kind. It meant that Pleena's survival was an act of the Force, and Talon wasn't about to try any form of dispute. She didn't know why Pleena had not been killed, but then she also didn't understand how Darth Phobos could have gotten inside the Jedi Temple without being sensed. That was something she'd have to remember to ask Master Leia about.

* * *

><p>Leia looked up from the datapad that she was reading a novel of political intrigue that was supposedly written a hundred years ago. She tilted her head and frowned in confusion because she sensed a strange sort of lethargy emanating through the Force. It was combined with a feeling of relaxation and near giddiness. Laying the datapad aside, she got up from her chair and concentrated on the unusual sensation. Her eyes widened as she realized that those strange feelings were coming from nearby. That meant they could only have Talon as the source. Grabbing a thick outer robe she stepped out into the hall and over to Talon's quarters. She donned the robe before entering the girl's room, and immediately brought the lights up just enough that she could see. Looking around the room, she saw a few datapads laying neatly on the workstation. One was obviously the rules and tenets of the Order, but she had to walk over and activate the other to find that it was filled to capacity with galactic history.<p>

Leia frowned when she realized that what she _didn't_ see, was a datapad that Talon was taking notes on. That left the question of where the girl was making her notations for questions and other things that needed further explanation or elaboration. She turned and looked around the rest of the room, and noted that everything was nice and neatly arranged as if waiting for an occupant. A sigh of frustration left her because there wasn't a single personal touch to the room. No decorations, knick-knacks, or even a small holopad portrait of someone… the room was completely bare. Suddenly, she remembered why she had come in the first place. Seeing that Talon wasn't in the room, she started to leave when she saw the indicator on the fresher was signaling that it was occupied.

When she opened the door to the fresher, Leia was bombarded by a blast of steam, ice crystals, fog, and air that was absolutely _freezing_! She was instantly covering her face and stepping back until the strange maelstrom died down. When she did finally enter the fresher, Leia saw Talon lying down in a tub of steaming water. That tub of hot water was the source of the steam, fog, and ice crystals, and the environmental controls were set to a temperature that was _far_ lower than Talon usually preferred. She went over to the tub and knelt down on the ice covered floor so she would slip.

"Talon… are you…? Are you feeling okay?" Leia asked uncertainly because she just could _not_ believe what she had encountered.

"I feel fine, Master Leia. Pleena was right. This does feel good." Talon replied in an almost sleepy voice.

"Really? Well, what did she suggest to you then?" Leia asked in a casual tone that belied her concern.

"Pleena told me to get the water as hot as I could stand it, set the air really cold, and then lay in the tub for a while. She said the air has to be _really_ cold or I could get too hot." Talon answered.

Leia wasn't sure if this was actually good for Talon or not, so she sent a com signal to Cilghal, notifying her that she should come to Talon's room.

Cilghal got the com signal from Leia, and was immediately concerned. She knew better than anyone what kind of cold Talon needed, and if the girl was taking a bath hot enough to form steam, then the heat from that could _easily_ kill her or cause severe cerebral damage if it lasted for too long. She dropped the datapad with the results of Kaldin's latest diagnostics on her workstation and hurried to Talon's room. The briskly cold air inside was expected. What was _not_ expected… was the blast of air that was actually _freezing_ as it emerged from the fresher!

As Cilghal looked down at the girl, she felt strangely relaxed and lazy for some reason. That was when she realized that those feelings were being broadcast through the Force, and they were coming from Talon. Using the Force, Cilghal shut the door to Talon's room before speaking to her.

"Talon… I need you to leave the tub and go lay on your bed so I can examine you." Cilghal told her firmly.

Talon nodded and slowly got out of the tub. As soon as she did the freezing air of the fresher hit the water on her skin and froze it into solid ice, causing her to shiver violently. Leia didn't hesitate as she grabbed Talon, and quickly moved her from the freezing air in the fresher to the somewhat warmer environment of her room. She placed the shivering girl in a sitting position on the edge of her bed and began to dry her off. Once Talon was dry, Leia helped her still lethargic and uncoordinated apprentice get dressed in the robes that she'd had made on board _The Alderaan._ She sat Talon back down and began brushing the girl's hair so that Talon would remain still while Cilghal scanned her for possible injuries.

"She's a bit lightheaded from the heat, but she's not in any apparent danger. Talon, do you remember what settings you used on the water and environmental controls?"

Instead of being answered, Cilghal found herself in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. She knew that it had been rebuilt from the near ruins that it had been blasted into, but that wasn't what currently had her attention. Talon was looking around in awed but _very_ relaxed wonder. Talon wasn't wearing anything, and that was how she knew that she'd _somehow_ gotten pulled into Talon's mind. Unable to believe that this had happened she looked around, and saw Leia standing there in a state of confusion as well.

Cilghal shook her head to rid herself of the confusion and caused the image of Talon to be clad in the robes that Leia had dressed her in for sleeping. "_Talon… are you feeling alright?_"

"_Yes, Master._"

"_Then may I ask why you have brought us here?_" Cilghal asked slowly.

Talon looked as if she'd just been hit by a blaster bolt. The blood drained rapidly from her face as an expression of mortal terror graced her features. "_I'm sorry. I didn't intend to do this._" She exclaimed softly while shaking her head in denial.

"_I'm sure you didn't Talon, but we're here now, so just relax and calm down. Has either of us ever hurt you before?_" Leia asked softly.

Talon shook her head hesitantly not understanding what was happening.

"_That's right Talon, we haven't, and we aren't going to either!_" Leia said in a firm but gentle tone while she moved closer to the mental projection of the girl. "_Can I ask what made you choose this room?"_

Talon swallowed hard before looking up at her Master who sat down beside her, and gently pulled her to sit down on the dais as well. "_I've never been hurt in this room._" She whispered softly.

"_You won't be harmed here either. Not as long as any Jedi have something to say about it._" Cilghal rumbled with a frown.

"_I take it that you like this room Talon?_" Leia asked as she rubbed lightly on the girl's back.

"_I think so. At least, I think I understand what Pleena was telling me about likes, dislikes, good, and bad._" Talon said as she frowned in thought.

"_The fact that you aren't in pain, are learning, and that you are _trying_ to learn… is very good Talon._" Leia told her.

"_Do you think Lord Vader will be angry at me?_" Talon asked a little apprehensively.

Leia was quick to notice that Talon was _much_ more relaxed than she usually was. Compared to the state of mind that she was normally in, Talon was almost calm. Leia knew that she and her father didn't share what could be called a '_loving_' relationship in any way, but right now she was not especially happy with him either. It had taken a long talk with her nephew, but she finally understood what had occurred between Talon and Anakin. She was fairly sure that her father was only trying to look out for her, but still, she would _enjoy_ giving her father's spirit a piece of her mind for giving Talon something else to be frightened of.

"_No, Talon; I don't. The reason I can say that is because not only are you trying to learn how to become a proper Jedi, you are also beginning to learn what life means as well. These are important things for you to experience. You need to learn what life is about, and that is something I will also try to teach you Talon. There is a lot more to living than just existence. There's more than not being hungry, not being in pain, and not being afraid of people. Pleena is a very good example of that. Whether you know it or not, she's your friend who wants to help you learn about the good things in life._" Leia said as she rubbed Talon's back soothingly.

Cilghal watched as Leia talked with Talon. Had it been anyone else, she would have sworn that the girl wasn't paying attention, because she was looking at all the fountains and plants that were in this mental image of the room. The reason she knew that Talon actually _was_ paying attention though was what she could feel here in the girl's mind. She could feel a strange type of focus that wasn't centered on any one thing, but instead was absorbing everything. It was something that she wanted to learn because of the advantage that it seemed to present. Then Cilghal saw Talon nod in response to what Leia had told her, and she was certain that the girl had understood.

"_Thank you._" Talon breathed earnestly while glancing up at her Master.

"_For what Talon?_" Leia asked in confusion while looking at the girl.

"_For… for not making me hurt._" Talon whispered nervously. "_You… you could have hurt me when I did things to be punished for, and… you didn't._"

"_You're right Talon, she didn't punish you. I'll admit that you disobeyed instructions from both of us in regard to using those sabers skills of yours, but the first is understandable. The second time you disobeyed us was to save another student, and not only do I not disapprove of that incident, but I am glad you intervened the way you did. Little Kaldin is still alive because of your actions. It's true that you could have been injured, perhaps even seriously, but you ignored that possibility and any possible consequences in order to help him. That is what we Jedi do Talon, but we try to help as many as we can… throughout the galaxy. As for the third time… I don't think Darth Vader really gave you a choice, now did he?_" Cilghal said as she knelt down in front of Talon.

Even as Talon was shaking her head to answer the Healer, Leia spoke.

"_If I had hurt you Talon, _I_ would be the one getting punished! Remember what I told you about those kinds of rules called laws? Those laws exist to make sure that everyone is safe without being hurt and that includes you Talon. Do you understand?_" Leia asked as she draped her right arm over the girl's shoulders in a one armed hug, while using her left to make the girl look at her.

Talon thought about that answer for a few minutes. She remembered her Master even telling her that she _couldn't_ be punished because of these 'laws'. She didn't know anything about these laws, but she felt that they must be something very strong to make stipulations like that. She finally nodded her head in answer to her Master's question before looking around the room once more.

Leia was thoroughly surprised when she felt the level of curiosity that rose with in Talon's mind. It felt very much like an insatiable hunger, or an unquenchable thirst, and that was something Leia could understand. She knew that Talon had long been denied many things in her life, with something as simple and everyday as a name being among them. With a simple question showing ignorance and that being something which Talon would be _harshly_ punished for, one would think that she'd had her fill of questions. Leia knew that the truth was in fact, just the opposite. Talon not only wanted to learn, but she almost _needed_ to learn, and that fact that she could feel that curiosity running rampant in Talon's mind, prompted her next question.

"_I can feel that there's something you want to know Talon, so what is it?_" Leia asked casually.

"_Is there really a room like this?_" Talon asked as she turned her head towards her Master.

"_Yes Talon, there is. This is called 'The room of a thousand fountains'. It is a place for meditation. Where you can calm your mind and commune with the Force. It was built before the Temple was damaged and the destruction of the previous Jedi Order. We have rebuilt it and much of the Temple as well. There is still some construction in the lower levels because most of the computer technology that was incorporated into the Temple is outdated, and some of that equipment is heavily damaged. It is taking some time to recover the data that was in those systems. I will take you to the room in the morning and show you where it is. While you are there, you will not be disturbed, so you can meditate as deeply as you wish._" Leia said as she answered the girl's question before looking at her seriously.

"_Talon, I have asked you, and you agreed not to show other students how to… to… take journeys in the Force, but I want you to know, that here in your quarters, or in The room of a thousand fountains, you can do exactly that, because no even other students will not bother someone who is meditating; understand?_" Leia added firmly.

Talon nodded her head, because she _did_ understand. Master Leia was telling her that she would now have a place where she could go where ever the Force decided to take her. She didn't have the words to express how she felt about that, but if she understood Pleena's explanations correctly, then she liked it because it was something in her life that was good.

Suddenly, before she could think to say anything else, Talon was alone in her mind. The room of a thousand fountains was gone, and she opened her eyes to find both Masters looking at her intently.

"Talon… are you _sure_ you're feeling okay?" Leia asked in concern.

Talon nodded her head in disappointment. She _hungered_ to be back in the room where she had never been hurt, where she had received nothing soft touches from Master Leia. Even the other Masters had never caused her any pain while she was there. It was a place where she actually _felt_ that she was safe.

"You aren't in any pain are you Talon?" Cilghal asked after seeing Talon's reaction.

"No Master Cilghal… not like I was earlier." Talon answered hesitantly.

"I take that to mean that there is some pain then. Let me give you an injection for that… actually make that a trio of injections. A little pain serum, a bacta injection, and a mild sedative to make sure that you'll sleep soundly." Cilghal said as she pulled out her medical kit.

Talon nodded her head, and the Jedi Healer eased the thin robe looking shirt off of Talon's right shoulder so she could give the injections. Once they were done, Cilghal put the girl's shirt back into place.

"Talon, I want you to get in bed and go to sleep _without_ having any dreams except ones about the room of a thousand fountains. In the morning, I want you to come to the infirmary after breakfast, so I can give you another pain injection along with some more bacta serum." Cilghal instructed before she left.

"I'll be going to bed as well Talon, so I'll see you in the morning. In the meantime, I want you to sleep peacefully." Leia told the girl as she helped Talon get in the bed.

Leia could see that the supposedly mild sedative was already having an affect on the girl, because her movements were quickly becoming sluggish and uncoordinated. That was when she remembered Cilghal's warning in the Council meeting. Talon's metabolism was running at a greatly accelerated rate to help absorb the minerals that she lacked. It all added up to Talon being asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Leia smiled softly at the girl's sleeping form, before she left the room.


End file.
